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It's the end of an era for coal workers
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The UK shut down its only remaining coal-fired power station overnight on Monday
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bringing to an end of 142-year dependence on the fossil fuel. The country's last remaining coal power station, located in Nottinghamshire's Ratcliffe-on-Saw
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stopped operating at midnight, signaling a new chapter for the UK energy mix
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The decision to close, the Ratcliffe-on-Saw plant makes the UK the UK the first
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G7 Nation to end its use of coal. It also marks the conclusion of a swift divestment from the fossil fuel
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by the UK, where coal power was invented in 1882. In the 1980s, coal, which is the dirtiest and least
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efficient of the major fossil fuels, accounted for roughly 80% of the UK's power needs. And as
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recently as 2014, it remains the country's leading source of electricity. The Racklifon saw
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plant powered 2 million homes before it was decommissioned and had been earmarked for closure
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in late 2022 But in the wake of Russia invasion of Ukraine the plant owners the German energy company Uniper sought the permission of the government to reverse its decision in order to help ease energy shortages
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Climate advocates have responded positively to the closure, with Ed Matthew, a director at
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Climate Crisis Think Tank E3G, saying, this is true global leadership, lighting the path for other countries to follow
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and Tony Bosworth, a campaigner with Friends of the Earth, warned that this vital green transition must be fair
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by protecting workers and benefiting communities. The plant manager Peter O'Grady said the closure of the plant on Monday was an emotional day
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The station's 170 remaining staff were invited to the site's canteen, where Uniper broadcast a live stream of the plants generating units being turned off for the final time
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Many of the staff who were assembled will stay on at the plants to help administer a two-year decommissioning process
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Here at Cityam, we'd like to know what do you think of the plant closure
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Let us know your thoughts in the comments
