How Britain kicked coal

Despite the chaos of Brexit and the difficulty of expanding renewable generation in a country where sunshine is notoriously scarce, and despite strong opposition to wind turbines, Britain has just about ended its use of coal-fired electricity. The last coal-fired power stations are set to close by 2025, but the process is almost complete already. How was this achieved?

The answer can be found in this graph released by Ofgem, the British electricity regulator. As it shows, coal (shown in orange) supplied around 40 per cent of British electricity in 2006, yet by 2018 its contribution was negligible. (The graph on Ofgem’s site is interactive, so you can see the actual numbers there.)

Read the story by John Quiggan from Inside Story - “How Britain kicked coal.”

One area where the banks are getting it right: curbing coal

Amid all the excitement over the bank royal commission, in the dying days of 2017 there were important changes at several of the big four that you may have missed.

The big banks have effectively ruled out financing the
expansion of thermal coal mining or coal-fired electricity. 

It became crystal clear the big four will no longer be backing the expansion of thermal coal mining, or coal-fired electricity, thus speeding up the economy’s shift towards renewable energy. 

Read the story by Clancy Yeates in today’s Melbourne Age - “One area where the banks are getting it right: curbing coal.”