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UK's Coal Power Phase-Out - Coggle Diagram
UK's Coal Power Phase-Out
The upgrade
Coal's shares of the power mix
39% in 2012
2% in 2020
0% in 2024
Carbon emissions from
electricity generation
160 MtCO2e in 2012
41 MtCO2e in 2023
UK's new targets: Clean power by 2030
25 CFPP closed or switched fuels since 2000 (15 of those since 2012). Last CFPP (Ratcliffe-on-Soar) shut down
on 30 Sept 2024
Wind and solar generation increased from 6% to 34%,
while share of gas grew only from 28% to 34%.
Government's Approach in
Phasing Out CFPP
Carbon Floor Price in 2013
Minimum price on carbon emissions
Renewable auctions
Lesson Learned
Tightening decarbonization target
Released UK Climate Change Act in 2008,
updated in 2019
Explained the use of unabated coal was incompatible
with achieving a net zero economy
Raising the cost of coal
Revealed hidden costs so coal power
was no longer economically viable
Rising minimum carbon price in 2013
In 2016 an Industrial Emission Directive set tighter limits
on air pollution from large power plants
Older power plants became uneconomic
to continue running
In 2013 the UK set limits for CO2 emissions at 450g/KWh
for new fossil power plants built after 18th Feb 2014
Support for offshore wind
Solar and wind rose from 21 TWh in 2012
to 96 TWh in 2023 (or increased 75 TWh ).
Grew 315% (62 TWh) from 2012 to 2023
Stable policy support
Created
Offshore Wind Sector Deal
in 2019:
Roadmap for government action, including assurances
of long-term funding and investment into R&D.
Market reforms for renewables
Ensured security of supply
From 2013, the UK Capacity Market funded new
capacity in fossil gas to ensure security of power supply
Contracts for Difference price support scheme in 2014
for new generators
Created competitive auction
Rapid price reductions
Six auction rounds in total, supporting a 35 GW
of wind and solar projects
Electricity grid investment
In 2010, new method of transmission upgrades
Sped up the deployment of RE
In 2015, UK's National Grid Electricity System Operator began using an annual process to review grid update
In 2022, National Grid ESO announced its plan to
bring long-term grid upgrades
In 2024, it published an interim Beyond 2030 network upgrades report