Fiddler’s Ferry Power Station in Warrington, Cheshire has closed following nearly 50 years of generation. The closure of the coal-fired power station, which became fully operational in 1973, was announced by SSE in June 2019.

At the same time, RWE has closed its Aberthaw plant in Wales that first became operational in 1971.

The planned closure of Fiddler’s Ferry is part of SSE’s commitment to a net-zero emissions future and comes five years ahead of the UK Government’s target to end unabated coal-fired electricity generation by 2025. It follows the closure of the company’s other coal-fired plant, the Ferrybridge C station in West Yorkshire, in 2016.

Stephen Wheeler, MD of SSE Thermal, said: “The closure of Fiddler’s Ferry Power Station is a landmark moment for SSE, and the wider energy industry, as we transition to a net-zero emissions future. It’s made a huge contribution to the local area, but it’s the right thing to do as the UK continues to move to cleaner ways of producing energy and take action on climate change.

Wheeler continued: “SSE is now the UK’s leading generator of renewable energy and we have committed to trebling our output by 2030. We will back up this renewable generation with super-efficient gas-fired plants, which we are also looking to decarbonise through emerging carbon capture and hydrogen technology”.

The shutdown of these two coal plants leaves only four remaining coal plants in the UK ahead of the Government’s ban on coal-fired power from 2025, and further reduces the 2 per cent proportion that coal generated energy made to the UK’s energy mix in 2019.

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