Last UK coal power station closes

After more than 140 years of coal-fired energy, the last remaining UK coal power station closes today in the East Midlands.

Uniper's Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station near Nottingham started generating in 1967 but will end at midnight.

The company says the 170 employees are completing their final shifts before the plant closes after almost six decades of generation.

With 2GW of capacity, enough for two million homes, the station has eight 114m-high cooling towers in the East Midlands. 

The government announced plans to end UK coal power generation over the next decade in 2015, with the 1 October 2024 end date confirmed in 2020.

The last delivery of coal arrived in June by train - 1,650t from the port of Immingham.

The site will go through a decommissioning process, which is expected to last two years, before being passed on to a demolition contractor.