After nearly 50 years of service, Scotland’s last coal-fired power plant — Longannet Power Station — has finally gone offline, putting an end to over 100 years of burning coal for electricity.
It’s an important moment for Scottish Power, which looks ahead to clean power initiatives with the goal of going all-renewable by 2020,
But it’s also a very symbolic action for the world. Hopefully other nations will follow suit, creating a domino effect as country by country eliminates its coal plants — like the one above — in favor of renewable alternatives.
Brought online in 1969, Longannet was only designed to be used for 25 years. The plant had four generating units producing 2,400 megawatts at maximum capacity — enough to power 25 percent of Scottish homes.
When Longannet was initially constructed, it was the largest coal-fired plant in Europe. It remained a critical element of Scotland’s energy plan — one reason why it took so long to decommission. Scottish Power had to move carefully to ensure that they didn’t jeopardize the power supply during the transition.
Power plant stacks image via Shutterstock.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/scotland-says-goodbye-to-coal.html#ixzz44feU3Qye
