Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal plant prepares for use due to air conditioning demand after heatwave

A coal-fired power station has been put on standby after an increased electricity demand for air conditioning due to the wave of hot weather.

National Grid, an electricity and gas utility company, has asked Uniper, the owner of Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, to prepare for use after temperatures hit 30C over the weekend.

The hot weather is expected to push up demand for power, as households and businesses switch on air conditioning units.

It is hoped the move will help meet electricity usage demands.

The company said it will continue using its balancing mechanism to maintain a balance between supply and demand on the network.

Coal has not been used to generate energy for the National Grid in Britain for 46 days.

Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said in a tweet: "We're using MORE coal to cool down the effects of the coal we're using. It makes no sense."

In a statement, Greenpeace UK’s political campaigner, Ami McCarthy, said: "It is a sign of failure that the National Grid is turning to one of the most polluting forms of power generation to deal with a summer heatwave that we know has been made worse because of climate change."

It's 'ironic that we're trying to use coal to mitigate the problems of climate change'

Greenpeace Policy Director and Chief Scientist Dr Doug Parr agreed with his colleague but suggests the UK isn't equipped with the correct infrastructure to completely rely on alternative green energy, like solar, for short-term fixes.

He says more people are required to know how to install solar panels correctly.

Speaking to ITV News Central he said: "Hopefully if the coal power station isn't on for very long then the impacts won't be huge, and we hope that's the case.

"So I think what it does show is irony that we're trying to use coal to mitigate the problems of climate change but it also reveals our buildings and infrastructure just isn't ready for the climate threats and challenges we're going to face over the next few decades.

"There's no shortage of options for delivering solar power."

He continued on to say solar power is "cheaper, cleaner and quicker to deploy than any other form of energy operation technology."

"What we're short of at the moment, more than the supplies and parts, is people to actually do the [solar panel] installations," he added.

The earliest the coal-fired plant would be able to connect to Great Britain’s electricity grid was 2.25pm this afternoon (12 June).

ITV News has contacted National Grid and Uniper for a statement.

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