Monday marked the end of an era as after 200 years, one of England’s last coal mines is closing.
The Bradley Mine, an open cast pit, had been producing 150,000 tonnes of coal per year, but after plans to expand the site had failed, it had brought an end to the site. There are still a few others in the UK – the Hartington mine in Derbyshire, some small operational underground mines in Cumbria, and the Forest of Dean will remain open for the time being. However, it has been suggested that these sites and similar across Wales and Scotland, should be prepared to receive the same news in due course.
Such closures follow similar activity overseas – we have recently covered the scaling back of the world’s largest coal mine in the USA, in response to having its value cut by £1.4bn.
The closure is a sign of change in the UK’s energy demands. Although workers are upset at the closure, as the UK still has a demand for almost eight million tonnes of coal per year, the recent months have shown that demand is certainly dropping. 47% of the UK’s energy between January and March of this year had come from renewable sources, and the demand for coal had dropped between March and June as the lockdown had been in full swing.
Whilst there will likely be a small bump in demand when things get back to normal, it has been predicted the demand will likely remain much lower moving forward, as increasing efforts are being made to ensure that a green recovery can be adopted. The most recent steps forward here have been in wind energy, as recent off-shore and on-shore sites have been announced, as well as a trial for hydrogen that could see it become a primary resource for heating and transport.
The change is great for consumers too – changes in demand will have an impact on the energy supply market, with increasing rewards or subsidies for clean energy solutions. Furthermore, we are likely to see price discrepancies for non-renewable options, as demand decreases.
To explore how you can take the next step in going green – protecting the environment and saving you money, you can get in touch with us today and we can guide you through the process, including any funding or grants available
