The UK has marked a historic moment in its energy transition by shuttering the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in Nottinghamshire, its last remaining coal power plant.

“This is the final chapter of a remarkably swift transition from the country that started the Industrial Revolution,” said Phil MacDonald, managing director of global energy think tank Ember. 

The world’s first coal power plant opened in London in 1882, and as recently as 2012, coal powered 39% of the UK’s electricity supply. However, Ember’s data shows how this dropped rapidly in the following years, remaining at 2% or lower since 2019. 

Ember’s report, “The UK’s journey to a coal power phase-out,” outlines the five key factors that facilitated the UK’s rapid exit from coal: announcing a 2025 coal exit a decade in advance, putting a price on carbon, backing offshore wind, market reforms to encourage renewable energy, and investing in the grid. 

“The UK provided both the carrots and the sticks,” said Phil MacDonald, managing director of Ember. “It’s important to signal that polluting sources have an end date, but also to provide an enabling environment to build the new clean energy system.” 

The UK predominantly replaced coal with wind and solar, without increasing reliance on gas. The country is now targeting a fully decarbonized power system by 2030. 

The UK’s coal phase-out has brought many benefits, reducing both emissions and costs. The rapid decline in coal power since 2012 avoided 880 million tonnes of emissions, which is equivalent to more than double the UK’s total economy-wide emissions in 2023. Ember calculates that the replacement of coal with wind and solar avoided an estimated £2.9 billion in costs.

The UK’s last coal plant closure means that more than a third of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are now coal-free, with three-quarters expected to eliminate coal power by 2030, aligning with global climate goals to limit warming to 1.5C.

Coal now accounts for just 17% of electricity generation in OECD countries, down from 36% at its peak in 2007. The rapid growth in solar and wind was responsible for 87% of the fall in coal during this period. 

“Once, coal power was a byword for industrial growth,” continued Mr MacDonald. “Now clean energy is driving economies – and not just in high-income countries, but throughout the world.”

Read more: The world’s only coal-to-nuclear reactor plant just broke ground in Wyoming

To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

The new HS18 E MAX (called “HS5390” E MAX in the US, because we don’t know what meters are) rough terrain electric scissor lift from Haulotte can drive around your job site at full height, and with a full load.

Last week, Haulotte added the new HS5390 E MAX to its line of electric rough-terrain scissor lifts, completing the company’s existing HSE (HS electric) range of scissor lifts. The HS18, though, is unique – and not just because of its 18 meter fully extended height. The HS18 E MAX can be driven both fully extended, and fully loaded.

Two configurations of its material handling racks are available for the HSE scissors. The racks are built to suit the materials being transported, generally expected to be “panels” (think drywall, windows, etc.) or pipes.

Haulotte material handling rack

With a load capacity of 400 kg (over 880 lbs.), Haulotte says its new HS5390 E MAX is ideal for jobs that require the transport of heavy loads across unfinished surfaces, using a series of optional attachments to offer a productive and safe solution to keeps materials organized and off the ground, minimizes the risk of trip and fall accidents.

Haulotte says its PULSEO-powered scissor lifts (“PULSEO” is Haulotte’s electric drive brand name) revolutionize the aerial industry by offering the performance of an internal combustion diesel machine in a more environmentally friendly package that can be used across the job site and in indoor or urban settings where loud, polluting diesels aren’t an option.

Electrek’s Take

This is a great example of a second-generation product doubling down on electrification and delivering significant improvements on its products without focusing on things like increased runtime (that’s the equivalent of “range anxiety” in the automotive world).

By stepping back and saying, “these things are already getting the job done time-wise, how can we make them do more in the time they already have?” Companies like Haulotte and JCB have made it infinitely easier for construction crews to put the HSE scissor lifts to work.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Haulotte, via Heavy Equipment Guide.

Mazda officially opened the order books on its new Mazda EZ-6 EV and EREV versions of the car in China yesterday. And the starting price? It’s under $25,000.

Co-developed by Mazda and Chinese state-owned Changan Auto, the EZ-6 was one of two new electric offerings that debuted back in April. The other was a CX-5/0-sized crossover called the Arata, but the EZ-6 seemed closer to production, with a promised on-sale date later this year.

Well, Mazda lived up to its promise. The all-new Mazda EZ-6 is officially available for pre-order in China. And, while our sources (Chinese car blogs Autohome and CarNewsChina) are a bit fuzzy on the actual price, the translation seems to indicate a starting price of just 160,000 yuan (a tick over $22,800, as I type this).

One thing that’s less fuzzy, however, is that there are four extended range EV, or “EREV” versions of the car (read: hybrid) along with three fully electric BEV versions available for order at the pre-sales launch.

Value for money

Despite the low price, the base version of the newest Mazda get leather seating surfaces, and higher trim versions splice leather and suede (Alcantara?) together. There’s a 14-speaker Sony audio system available, too, along with 64-color ambient lighting, “zero-gravity” front seats, which means that the seats can recline to a near-flat position, and a panoramic glass roof.

The BEV model is reported to be equipped with a single electric drive motor putting out 190 kW of power (approx. 254 hp), and can be had with either a 56.1 or 68.8 kWh battery pack, good for a CLTC range of 480 km or 600 km (about 370 miles), respectively. Top speed of either model is an electronically-limited 170 km/h (105 mph).

The “EREV” model (man, do I hate that acronym) is equipped with a 93 hp 1.5L range extending ICE generator paired to a 160 kW (215 hp) electric motor and feeding electrons to a lithium iron phosphate battery. Battery range is about 80 miles, with a “maximum comprehensive range” quoted as 1301 km (approx. 808 miles).

Electrek’s Take

Mazda’s CEO, Masahiro Moro is working with Changan to, “turn Mazda’s China business around.” The EZ-6 is part of that plan, and is being called Mazda’s first “global” sedan. Despite that, it seems unlikely that the EZ-6 will ever make it to the US.

And that’s too bad. Our roads could use a little electrified Zoom-zoom.

SOURCES | IMAGES: Mazda, via Autohome and CarNewsChina.