Britain goes first week without coal power since 1882

Britain is moving closer to not using any coal to generate electric power.

The country went a week without using the fuel to produce electricity for the first time since it opened a coal-fired plant in 1882, reports The Guardian.

I am proud that Britain has gone a record week without using coal to generate power.

Our investment in greener forms of energy is reducing emissions and ensuring we leave our planet in a better state for the next generation. pic.twitter.com/iIomuNz4zy

— Theresa May (@theresa_may) May 8, 2019

The last remaining coal plant went offline at 1.24 p.m. on May 1, the National Grid Electricity System Operator told The Guardian.

Great Britain has now officially gone a full week without coal!!!

This is the first time since the original coal power station launched back in 1882 #zerocoal

— National Grid ESO (@ng_eso) May 8, 2019

Coal-fired plants will still provide backup power during high demand but that need is being reduced as renewables increase, The Guardian reports.

On Tuesday #gas produced 56.9% of British electricity followed by nuclear 20.5%, imports 6.6%, solar 5.3%, wind 5.3%, biomass 4.1%, hydro 1.2%, other 0.2%, coal 0.0% *excl. non-renewable distributed generation pic.twitter.com/KOxyYStzFx

— ESO Control Room (@NGControlRoom) May 8, 2019

The government plans to eliminate coal-fired power by 2025, reports The Guardian.