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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Heather Stewart

Friday briefing: What the end of Port Talbot steelworks says about Britain’s green energy transition

A general view of the Tata Steel site on January 18, 2024 in Port Talbot, Wales.
A general view of the Tata Steel site on January 18, 2024 in Port Talbot, Wales. Photograph: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images

Good morning.

This week the UK passed two historic landmarks in our green energy transition: the end of coal-fired electricity, and the shutdown of the last blast furnace at Port Talbot steelworks. For the country that pioneered the Industrial Revolution, where a million workers were employed in coal mining 100 years ago, the closure of the power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar, with its vast cooling towers, marked the end of an era.

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