The last coal plant shut down in England. Now what?

The last coal plant shut down in England. Now what?

From Speed & Scale by TED

September 29, 2025 · 25 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the closure of the last coal plant in the UK and explores solutions for transitioning away from natural gas to meet climate goals.

Did you know the UK just closed its last coal plant? Hooray! But after taking a moment to celebrate, Ryan and Anjali reflect on what to do about natural gas – a fossil fuel that the UK isn’t replacing fast enough to meet its climate goals. Fortunately, there are some really smart people coming up with bold solutions. They dive into Amol Phadke's groundbreaking idea to repurpose existing plants – a kind of "Airbnb for the grid" approach that could double transmission capacity, save billions, and accelerate the transition to clean energy. For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/speed-and-scale-transcript Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at  attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Ryan, Anjali

Topics covered

  • coal plant closure
  • natural gas
  • climate goals
  • clean energy
  • energy solutions

Keywords

  • coal plant
  • natural gas
  • climate change
  • clean energy
  • energy transition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: TED

Places: UK

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