Coal To Clean

The report 'Coal To Clean' by Ember (May 2018) analyzes the UK's transition away from coal power, concluding that the country is on track to phase out coal by 2025 without the need for new large gas-fired power plants. It argues that renewables, interconnectors, and small peaking gas plants can provide the necessary capacity and backup, allowing the UK to avoid a 'gas bridge' and move directly toward clean power generation.

• The UK is projected to complete its coal phase-out by 2025 without constructing new large gas plants, which are defined as stations with a total generating capacity exceeding approximately 450MW.
• Renewable energy generation is expected to surpass the highest level of coal electricity generated in any year of the 21st century (142 TWh in 2006) by 2025. Approximately 95% of the renewable growth required to replace coal is already under construction or contracted.
• Gas use in the UK electricity system peaked in 2008 and was 24% below that peak by 2017. To meet climate targets, the Government's Clean Growth Strategy aims to reduce gas generation from 40% of the electricity mix to 15% by 2032.
• The UK is increasingly relying on electricity imports to decarbonize; interconnectors are forecast to supply 22% of electricity by 2025, up from 6% in 2017. A failure to achieve this growth could increase carbon emissions by approximately 70MT by the end of 2025.
• Analysis of the Capacity Market shows that five coal plants (Eggborough, West Burton, Aberthaw, Cottam, and Fiddlers Ferry) have already been effectively replaced by a mix of batteries (885MW), demand-side response (1,268MW), interconnectors (3,100MW), pumped storage/energy from waste (380MW), small gas (3,337MW), and diesel (850MW).
• Small peaking gas plants (reciprocating gas engines) are preferred over large Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT) for replacing coal because they have lower capital costs (£325/kW vs £460/kW), shorter deployment times (1 year vs 4 years), and shorter design lives (10-20 years vs 20-35 years), avoiding long-term carbon lock-in.
• The report recommends that the Government extend the instantaneous emissions intensity limit of 450gCO2/kWh to all fuels for new installations with a thermal capacity over 1MW to prevent inefficient small peaking gas plants from displacing more efficient large gas plants due to market design flaws.
• Between 2012 and 2016, 12 coal plants representing 15GW closed. The remaining seven coal plants have a combined capacity of 14GW, with the Government expecting only 1.5GW to remain online by 2025.

APA

Ember (2018). Coal To Clean. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/Coal-To-Clean-May-2018.pdf

Chicago

Ember. Coal To Clean. 2018. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/Coal-To-Clean-May-2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Coal To Clean |date=May 2018 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/Coal-To-Clean-May-2018.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2018coal, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Coal To Clean}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/Coal-To-Clean-May-2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }