Friday 5 January 2018

Government sets hard date and limit for coal phase-out

Government sets hard date and limit for coal phase-out

 
The UK Government has set a hard date and limit for the phase-out of unabated coal-fired power plants.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has said from the 1st of October 2025, it will force plants to close unless they are fitted with carbon capture technology.

This will limit their emissions to 450 grams of carbon dioxide for each kilowatt hour of electricity produced and apply to facilities burning solid fossil fuels with a capacity of more than 300MW.

Having assessed nearly 6,000 responses to a consultation as to how this could be achieved, the government expects the 6GW of coal-fired power capacity currently in operation to fall to just 1.5GW by 2025 as a result of these measures.

The legislation supports the country's legally binding 2050 target to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 80% below 1990 levels as part of its international climate change obligations.

A spokesperson for BEIS said: "Our assessment is that the Capacity Market will ensure that there is sufficient capacity in place to replace unabated coal units when they close."

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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