EDF Energy, the British subsidiary of French energy group EDF, has announced plans to cease power generation at its 2 GW Cottam coal-fired power plant in Nottinghamshire (United Kingdom) in late September 2019. The power plant will no longer be economically viable to run, due to the challenging market conditions over the last few years and the context of the global drive to decarbonise power generation.
Cottam has been operating for more than 50 years even though it was designed to operate for 30 when it was built. It broke ground in 1966 and entered commercial operations in 1969. Apart from the Cottam power plant, EDF Energy also owns the 2 GW West Burton-A coal power plant in North Nottinghamshire, which has capacity agreements in place for three of its four units in place until the end of September 2021. Operations at the West Burton A plant are also at stake and EDF Energy plans to review its future beyond that date.