UK goes seven days without electricity from coal power stations
It's the first time since the Industrial Revolution
The United Kingdom has gone for a week without the need for electricity generated by coal-fired power stations.
In a statement from Fintan Slye, Director of the System Operator at National Grid, he said:
"At 1.24pm, we reached over a week of no coal being used to operate the electricity system,
"As more and more renewables come onto our energy system, coal-free runs like this are going to be a regular occurrence."
As part of efforts to meet its climate target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent compared with 1990 levels in the next three decades, Britain plans to wean itself completely off coal-fired power generation by 2025.
The UK's last deep-cast coal mine closed in North Yorkshire in 2015, marking the end of an era for an industry once employing 1.2 million people in nearly 3,000 collieries.
However, coal plants emit almost double the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) - a heat-trapping gas blamed for global warming - as gas-fired power plants, and were moved out of Britain's cities from the late 1950's to reduce air pollution.
As part of efforts to meet its climate target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent compared with 1990 levels in the next three decades, Britain plans to wean itself completely off coal-fired power generation by 2025.
Published: by Radio NewsHub