UK coal power stations to the phased out by 2025

The UK’s coal power stations will be shut down within the next 10 years, Energy Sectretary Amber Rudd said on Thursday.

Coal power stations will have their use restricted by 2023 and closed by 2025, Rudd said ahead of a major speech on energy policy.

“It cannot be satisfactory for an advanced economy like the UK to be relying on polluting, carbon intensive 50-year-old coal-fired power stations,” she said.

“This is not the future. We need to build a new energy infrastructure, fit for the 21st century.”

Rudd said the move is part of the Government’s determination to cut carbon emissions and will make the UK one of the first developed countries to commit to taking coal power offline.

However she said energy security comes first.

“I am determined to ensure that the UK has secure, affordable, and clean energy supplies that hardworking families and businesses can rely on now and in the future.”