VOA新闻杂志2024--Britain's Last Coal-Fired Power Station Set to Close

Britain's last coal-fired power station is set to close at the end of this month.

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station sits in central Britain's East Midlands area. It has been producing electricity for nearly 60 years.

The planned closure will end pollution-linked coal burning for electricity production in Britain. It also marks the first time a member of the Group of Seven (G7) leading world economies has completely ended coal-fired energy production.

The power center operates in the town of Ratcliffe-on-Soar. It has long been one of the area's biggest landmarks².

David Reynolds is a 74-year-old retiree. He remembers seeing the station being built as a child before it opened in 1967. He told the French news agency, AFP, "It'll seem very strange because it has always been there." He added, "When I was younger you could go down certain parts and you saw nothing but coal pits."

Coal-fueled power production has been an important part of Britain's economic history. It helped drive an Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. This helped make the country a world superpower. But the coal-fired centers also led to increased pollution problems across the nation.

In the 1980s, coal burning represented 70 percent of the country's electricity production mix. That level began to decrease in the 1990s. By 2013, coal burning made up 38 percent of the country's electricity production. The rate fell to five percent in 2018 and dropped to one percent in 2023.

Britain's Conservative-led government announced in 2015 it planned to close all coal-fired power stations by 2025 in an effort to reduce carbon emissions⁴. Many scientists have linked carbon emissions to planet warming and other climate changes linked to human-related causes.

As of last year, natural gas represented one-third of Britain's electricity production, power operator National Grid⁵ ESO reported. The organization also found that a quarter of electricity production came from wind power, while 13 percent was nuclear.

Jess Ralston heads a British policy center called the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit. He told AFP that the country's strong push to end coal-fired plants was linked to government requirements as well as a changing economic environment.

"So larger power plants like coal plants had regulations put on them...and that meant that it was no longer economically attractive to invest in those sorts of plants."

Britain's new Labour government launched its latest energy plan after its election win in July. The plan calls for investing in offshore⁶ wind, tidal energy and nuclear power. The government has said the aim is to make Britain a world leader in "clean energy."

The planned closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar on September 30 is seen as an important step in Britain's efforts to decarbonize its electricity system by 2030. The country also plans to become carbon neutral by 2050.

The move makes Britain the first in the G7 to halt all coal powered electricity production. Italy plans to do so by next year, France in 2027, Canada in 2030 and Germany in 2038. Japan and the United States have set no dates for stopping production.

Words in This Story

landmark¹ - n. a building or other place that is easily recognized

pit - n. a hole in the ground

emission³ - n. the act of sending something out such as a gas, heat, or light

regulation - n. an official rule that governs how something is done

attractive - adj. interesting or useful

tidal - adj. relating to or affected by tides: the regular rise and fall in the level of the sea

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

3 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

4 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

5 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

6 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。