The Ironbridge power station was switched off yesterday afternoon, drawing 46 years of generation to a close two weeks after National Grid introduced emergency measures to keep the lights on.
Mike Smith, a former engineer at the plant who synchronised it to the grid in 1969, was invited back to push the button to cease generation. The plant, which switched from coal to biomass in 2012, had been earmarked for closure by E.ON, its owner, for three years after it fell foul of a European directive to limit carbon emissions.
Amber Rudd, the energy secretary, announced this week that Britain’s coal-fired power stations would be retired before 2025. The decommissioning of coal and gas-fired plants is leaving a gap that critics fear will not be