One of UK's last coal power stations to close due to rising costs

One of the UK’s last seven coal power stations will close this year after half a century of generating electricity, as the polluting fuel continues its rapid decline in the energy mix.

 Cottam power station is due to close, with the loss of more than 150 jobs. 

EDF Energy said more than 150 jobs were likely to be cut due to the closure of the Cottam plant in north Nottinghamshire on 30 September.

The power station was no longer economically viable, the company said. Cottam has been hit by the costs of working to European environmental standards and the failure to secure a contract for payments supply backup power after September.

The UK government has pledged to end coal power generation in the UK by 2025 to meet its climate change commitments.

Read the story from The Guardian by Adam Vaughan - “One of UK's last coal power stations to close due to rising costs.”

Inside Melbourne's secret suburban hydro power system

From the outside, it looks like a green shipping container on an industrial block in the suburbs. But on the inside, there's plenty going on.

Melbourne water senior project manager Ian
 Royston at a new ''mini-hydro'' plant in Dandenong North.

The box is part of a little-known but growing Melbourne Water network of "mini-hydro" electric plants generating electricity in suburban Melbourne, and in the hills beyond.

With the addition of Melbourne Water's 14th hydroelectric plant, a "mini-hydro" to be turned on on Thursday in Mt Waverley, Melbourne Water's hydroelectric system generates enough power to supply more than 14,100 homes. Eleven of the plants are "mini-hydro" plants.

It's a system that the water company hopes to expand further.

Read Darren Gran’s story on the Melbourne Age - “Inside Melbourne's secret suburban hydro power system.”