After the Coal Rush: Assessing policy options for coal-fired electricity generation

Article

In early January 2008, Medway Council gave approval to a planning application from energy company E.ON to build a new coal-fired power station on the site of an existing plant at Kingsnorth. This would be the first major coal-fired power station built in the UK since the 1970s. In this report, we provide a comprehensive examination of the issues at stake. To decide what should be done about Kingsnorth and other proposed new plants, we argue that it is essential to understand the wider context of energy markets and energy policy, both within the UK and at European level.

In early January 2008, Medway Council gave approval to a planning application from energy company E.ON to build a new coal-fired power station on the site of an existing plant at Kingsnorth. This would be the first major coal-fired power station built in the UK since the 1970s.

The Kingsnorth application has provoked a major new debate on coal, energy policy and climate policy in the UK. This is, in part, because it is the first real test of both the Climate Change Bill passing through Parliament, and the wider consensus across Government, business and civil society that more radical action must be taken to reduce carbon emissions.

In this report, we provide a comprehensive examination of the issues at stake. To decide what should be done about Kingsnorth and other proposed new plants, we argue that it is essential to understand the wider context of energy markets and energy policy, both within the UK and at European level.

You can also download the background paper by Will Blyth of Oxford Energy Associates on the economics of investment in coal-fired power stations: The Investment Case for Coal-Fired Power Generation in the UK. ippr commissioned this paper to inform the coal project.

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