Ed Miliband's pledge to ex-mining areas as Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station to close after 57 years

Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottingham
-Credit: (Image: AP)


Energy secretary Ed Miliband has pledged to repay the debt owed to former coal mining areas as he writes for Nottinghamshire Live on the final day of Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station. The iconic site has been generating power since 1967 and as the UK moves to cleaner forms of energy, the country's last remaining coal-fired power station will stop operating at midnight on Monday (September 30).

As employees complete their final shifts, energy secretary Ed Miliband has written exclusively for Nottinghamshire Live on how areas like ours will benefit from the new forms of energy the government is pledging to deliver. Mr Miliband says former coal mining communities like those in Nottinghamshire are "crying out" for high-skilled, high paying jobs and that industries like nuclear energy will provide them.

Michael Lewis, the chief executive of Uniper, which runs the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, said: "Built during a time when coal was the backbone of industrial progress, Ratcliffe powered over two million homes and businesses-equivalent to the entire East Midlands region. It played a crucial role in boosting economic growth and supporting the livelihoods of thousands of people.

"This will be the first time since 1882 that coal has not powered Great Britain. As we close this chapter, we honor Ratcliffe's legacy and the people working here, while embracing the future of cleaner and flexible energy." Below is Mr Miliband's exclusive piece for Nottinghamshire Live as we mark the end of coal-fired power in the UK right here in our county.

End of an era for coal, new horizons for clean energy

Ed Miliband - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

Over 140 years ago, the UK became the first country in the world to open a coal-fired power station. For the first time, electricity started to power people's homes. The closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station tonight will mean Britain no longer burns coal to generate electricity. By anyone's measure this is an important milestone in our race for a cleaner energy system.

The closure of the last coal power station is a moment to mark the incredible contribution of coal to our energy supplies and thank the workers who powered our country: both the power station workers and the miners who dug the coal, risking their lives for our country.

The transition began because of the evidence about the harmful contribution burning coal played in causing the climate crisis, which has such risks for people in Britain in floods, droughts and extreme heatwaves.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband in a close-up face shot wearing a blue suit jacket, white shirt and red tie
Energy secretary Ed Miliband -Credit:Joseph Raynor/Nottingham Post

That is why I made the decision in 2009 when I was secretary of state for energy to rule out the construction of new coal-fired power stations without the carbon being captured, a policy that was developed further under the last Conservative government.

What has happened since shows how British leadership can make a difference. Many other countries have followed our example, including countries such as Spain and France, which are phasing out coal by 2025 and 2027. Indeed, the UK now co-leads a global coalition of countries and businesses from across the world, the 'Powering Past Coal Alliance', which works to help countries in all continents achieve an energy transition away from coal.

But this is more than a moment to mark the passing of one era of energy supply, it is also a chance to learn from our past.

Just as coal powered our country, giving us energy security, so clean energy can do the same. That is the whole point of the government's clean energy superpower mission, to provide us with energy security, free from the grip of petrostates and dictators.

Coal did not just power our country, it provided work. Young people worked in the industry as apprentices, built their skills and had lifelong careers. Children have grown up and proudly followed in their parent's footsteps.

So in the future, a clean energy system can also ensure good jobs and wages for our workers. In fact, it is the best chance we have to create good apprenticeships and new lifelong careers that the country is crying out for. The exciting thing about this new era is that new industries can be born - from carbon capture and storage to hydrogen to new nuclear to offshore wind.

This government is determined that the same communities who were at the heart of our coal-fired growth will be at the centre of our mission for clean power, and benefit from the many opportunities renewable power and emerging technologies will bring.

But it will only happen if government does the right thing. The truth about the past 14 years is that Britain has fallen behind in the race for the good jobs of the future.

This government is determined to change this. We will use every lever at our disposal to win good jobs for Britain. Great British Energy, our new publicly-owned energy company, a new national wealth fund to invest in good manufacturing jobs and British jobs, rewarding companies for investing in our former industrial areas.

Today is a day we honour our past and vow to build a better future. We owe a huge debt to Britain's coal-miners and power station workers. The best way we can repay the debt to the communities from which they came is to provide the energy security that coal gave us and create the good jobs of the future. This government is determined we succeed.