Author: News Desk

Quick View – Contents UK becomes the first major economy to stop burning coal for electricity – What comes next? Britain, home of the Industrial Revolution, closed its last coal-fired power plant on Monday ending the country’s 142-year reliance on coal-generated electricity. Of course, many will celebrate this major climate milestone. The country was the first to be powered by coal – the world’s first coal-fired electricity plant, Thomas Edison’s Edison Electric Light Station, opened in London in 1882.In 1990 coal provided about 80% of Britain’s electricity. By 2012 it had fallen to 39%, and by 2023 it stood at just 1%,…

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In the absence of new infrastructure and technology, the shift to more intermittent sources of power could leave the national grid more vulnerable to power cuts than it has been for decades… The health of the country’s economy — and the willingness of other countries to follow — may very well ride on the experiment’s success.

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Armstrong understood that renewables would be cheaper energy sources in the long run compared to burning dirty coal, but his was essentially a lone voice. The presumed abundance of coal led to the commissioning of the world’s first coal power plant in 1882. The U.K.’s coal plants have since burned through 4.6 billion tonnes of coal, emitting 10.4Gt of CO2, stresses Dr Sim Evans, deputy editor of Carbon Brief.

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Firstly, if the rest of the world is going to be inspired by the decommissioning of Britain’s coal-fired plants there is little sign of it yet… Britain may have managed to displace coal with a combination of gas and wind power, with a small contribution from solar (4.9 per cent last year), but it is not a practical course for many countries which do not have easy access to gas supplies, and who would have no other practical means of coping with the intermittency of wind and solar. The advantage of coal is that it is very easy to transport, store and stockpile.

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“The Hinkley Point project, which is already under construction, will supply electricity that is far more expensive than green energy. If it is done well, the German model combining the phasing out of nuclear energy and coal could be more favourable. But the top priority is that the newly industrialising and developing countries also switch to phasing out coal as quickly as possible. First and foremost China, which is still building new power plants. If they don’t change course, the joy over the end of the coal era in the UK will be of little use.”

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 Angry Russian tennis star has meltdown over controversial call at China Open Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev looked directly into a TV camera and ranted at the audience in an on-court tantrum at the China Open on Tuesday. The Moscow-born world No.5 was beaten 7-5 6-3 by the current Wimbledon and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the event in Beijing. Medvedev was left furious at 5-5, 0-15 after the China Open electronic line judge ruled in his opponent’s favour and he then proceeded to break the fourth wall. Speaking to the audience watching at home, Medvedev…

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Former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o has been banned from attending all Cameroon matches for six months after breaching FIFA’s disciplinary regulations. Eto’o has been the president of the Cameroon Football Federation since 2021 but will not be permitted to watch any of their games across men’s and women’s football, including age-group matches. ‘The sanction was imposed in connection with the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup round-of-16 match between Brazil and Cameroon played in Bogota, Colombia, on 11 September 2024,’ FIFA said in a statement. FIFA did not go into detail about the infringements but said Eto’o…

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 Arsenal legend reopens feud with Ruud van Nistelrooy by making outrageous claim Martin Keown has suggested his old rival Ruud van Nistelrooy is waiting in the wings and ready to take over from his boss, Erik ten Hag, at Manchester United. Having come perilously close to the sack last season, Ten Hag was spared in the summer on the back of masterminding an unlikely FA Cup triumph. The likes of Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino were sounded out, while the likes of Graham Potter and Gareth Southgate were also said to be under consideration. Ten Hag, however, was granted a…

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