Ironbridge Power Station prepares to shut as government announces UK closures

This comes as the Ironbridge Power Station, which was previously coal-fired but has since been replaced by biomass, is due to be turned off this week although E.on have yet to confirm the day.

It was revealed last Friday by plant manager Mike Wake that the station had about 70 hours left to go.

He said that by the end of the day he expected that would be down to about 50, meaning the power station could be turned off today.

The Government announcement – in the run-up to crucial United Nations climate talks due to take place in Paris in less than two weeks – has been welcomed in many quarters, with former US vice president Al Gore describing it as an "excellent and inspiring precedent".

But while environmentalists have backed the historic move to phase out coal, the power source responsible for most carbon emissions, concerns have been raised that the Government plans to switch to gas rather than cleaner technology.

Under the plans, all coal power plants which do not have technology to capture their carbon emissions will be shut by 2025, with their use restricted by 2023, a move which meets a previous pledge by Prime Minister David Cameron to phase out the use of coal.

It was confirmed by E.on earlier this year that Ironbridge Power station, built in the the 1960s, would close but the company placed a cloak of secrecy over the precise date because it said it was commercially sensitive.

Currently there are around 130 workers on site, and only a small team of 14 will be kept on after the shutdown to oversee a 15-month period of the decommissioning of the plant.

The closure of the power station is required by the EU's Large Combustion Plant Directive but it comes despite Britain's electricity supplies set to be at their tightest levels in a decade this winter.

The station will end its life after passing the milestone of generating power for a total of 20,000 hours since January 1, 2008.

The country's ability to meet its energy needs is being affected by the move to a low carbon economy, which is seeing the closure of older power stations, such as the one at Ironbridge.

The Government is insisting it will be "imperative" to build new gas-fired power stations in the next 10 years as it turns the emphasis on to new gas and nuclear power plants to cut emissions and ensure energy security. It comes after a series of announcements cutting support for renewables, which ministers claimed were necessary to prevent rising costs to consumers who pay for subsidies on their energy bills.

But it is likely that mechanisms will have to be found sooner to support the building of new gas-fired plants as the Government puts energy security first in the face of concerns over keeping the lights on as the country's energy infrastructure ages.

Amber Rudd, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said: "We are tackling a legacy of under-investment and ageing power stations which we need to replace with alternatives that are reliable, good value for money, and help to reduce our emissions.

"It cannot be satisfactory for an advanced economy like the UK to be relying on polluting, carbon-intensive 50-year-old coal-fired power stations.

"Let me be clear on this: this is not the future.

"Our determination to cut carbon emissions as cost effectively as possible is crystal clear.

"This step will make us one of the first developed countries to commit to taking coal off our system."