How long can the UK's coal industry survive? | Karl Mathiesen

Scotland's last coal power station is set to close and by the end of the year just six UK stations will remain. But in a challenging market, can these keep firing until the government's 2025 deadline for the end of UK coal?

At 3pm on Thursday, the turbines of Scotland's last coal power station at Longannet will spin for the last time. Coal, the lifeblood of the British economy for more than two centuries and now a terrible burden on the climate, is drawing its final breaths before an inevitable death. The question is: how long can it cling on?

Longannet's closure is the first in a year that will see a cascade of further shutdowns. Units at Rugeley, Eggborough, Ferrybridge and Fiddlers Ferry will all go cold over the coming summer months, removing 44% (around 8GW) of Britain's coal-generating capacity in the turn of a season. This follows the closure of 8GW of ageing coal plants since 2012.