Coal Power Is Finished: What It Means For UK Businesses

The UK has officially closed its final coal power station today, Monday 30th September, after relying on coal power, at least in part, to power the country for the past 142 years. This marks a serious switch in the UK’s approach to climate change as the country becomes the first G7 country to make such a move. But what does that mean for UK businesses? 

First, nothing will change for businesses in terms of the supply of power to your business, how much you pay, or how you use energy at your workplace. This is good news for UK businesses, as it allows you to account for overheads and bills easily. But how can such a monumental change to the UK’s power sector have such little impact on UK businesses in the immediate term?

How The UK Powers Businesses

The final coal power station officially stopped supplying power to the National Grid on Monday 30th September, just after 3pm. The UK was the first country in the world to use coal for public power generation in 1882, but that comes to an end today.

The UK has been able to achieve this because of the increased investment in green alternatives, namely offshore wind and solar farm alternatives. This means that even though coal power stations have been closing steadily throughout the country in recent years, there has been no drop in power supply to UK homes and businesses and this still remains true with the closure of the final coal power station.

As a business owner, you’ll still continue to receive power from the National Grid as usual, from your usual energy provider. It simply means that more of the energy you use now will be coming from green alternatives.

In fact, in 1990 it was estimated that 80% of the UK’s power came from coal. On it’s final day of operation, the last coal power station in the UK provided just 0.7% of power to the National Grid.

What Are The Wider Implications For UK Businesses?

Of course, in the immediate nothing changes for businesses across the UK – which is good, steadying news. But there are certain wider implications that must be thought about now that the country has taken such a momentous step away from coal and towards a greener future.

First, a renewed passion for a greener tomorrow. The UK aims for a zero carbon grid by 2030, which critics say is possible, but will require even more radical steps to achieve. This will mean a ramping up in investing in green technologies and green power, but this could very well impact businesses. For one, if you’re a business owner with a large industrial roof space, you might be able to more easily enter into a Power Purchase Agreement, where you lease your roof space to energy companies who then install solar panels, providing you with cheaper, greener energy during that time. This is just one possibility for business owners.

Second, a greater pressure on business owners to go green. Whilst there isn’t any pressure to go green from the government in so far as fines for those running carbon-heavy businesses at present, there is a growing social pressure on businesses and business owners to opt for greener options where possible. Even carbon offsetting – where businesses who can’t reduce their own carbon as easily invest in carbon reducing technologies and projects to offset their own business footprint – is looked upon incredibly favourably by customers. As customers come to expect more of the businesses they use, prioritising a greener business is more important than ever.

Whilst the closure of the UK’s final coal power station might not have a huge impact on your business now, the end of the Coal Age marks a definite shift in attitude that reflects a national trend. If you want your business to stay current in the Green Age, then making small, but impactful changes now, could be one key way of doing just that.

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