Cottam coal plant shuts down

EDF Energy’s Cottam coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire has shut down after more than half a century in operation.

Since it started generating in 1968, the plant has produced nearly 500 terawatt-hours of electricity – enough to power the entirety of the UK for around 18 months.

EDF said the facility’s staff have been preparing for the closure, which was officially announced in February, for almost two years.

A number of employees are being transferred to other EDF sites, including: the Hinkley Point C nuclear project in Somerset; its remaining West Burton A coal plant, which has capacity market contracts out to September 2021; and the West Burton B combined-cycle gas turbine plant, which began operating in 2013.

Plant manager Andy Power said: “Since the official announcement of the site’s closure earlier in the year we have been working with the Cottam team to ensure they secure the right future for them.”

“It is a sad day, but I am immensely proud to have been part of the Cottam family since I started as an apprentice here and now as plant manager,” he added.

“This place has been a key part of the landscape for the past 50 years supporting the economy and actually has gone far beyond its original projected operational life, and as we have seen the final days of power production the plant has been running better than ever.”

Back in 2014, the plant secured a three-year refurbishment agreement in the inaugural capacity market auction. The contract was originally set to run from October 2018 to September 2021 but was later shortened to a one-year agreement after EDF decided to abandon the upgrade.

The Carbon Price Support, which was introduced in April 2013 to provide a top-up to the EU Emissions Trading System and ensure generators pay a minimum price for the carbon they emit, has forced a number of coal plants off the system in recent years – Longannet, Ferrybridge, Rugeley and Eggborough.

The latest closure leaves Great Britain with just five coal-fired power stations – Drax, West Burton A, Aberthaw B, Fiddler’s Ferry and Ratcliffe.

RWE announced plans in August to close the Aberthaw B facility in 2020. Meanwhile, Drax is developing plans to replace the last two coal units at its namesake power station with combined-cycle gas turbines. SSE closed one of the four units at Fiddler’s Ferry in March.

The government has pledged to shut down all unabated coal generation in the UK by 2025.

Official statistics published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy last week showed coal accounted for just 0.6 per cent of electricity generated in the UK over the second quarter of 2019.

Earlier this year, the UK went without any domestic coal generation for more than 18 days – the longest coal-free run since the world’s first public coal-fired power station was opened in London in 1882.