In pictures: Longannet - Scotland's last coal power station
THE last lump of coal has been burned at Longannet power station in Fife.
The station has been generating electricity for nearly half a century.
The move signals the end of coal-fired electricity generation in Scotland, as the country’s largest and last remaining coal-fired power station is “desynchronised”.
Longannet was the largest power station in Europe when it came online in 1969, capable of producing 2,400 megawatts of electricity for the grid.
It took eight years to build and powered an average of more than two million homes annually during its working life.
Longannet was originally designed to run for just 25 years.
In its lifetime, Longannet has used over 177 million tonnes of coal, 2.7 million tonnes of heavy fuel oil, 0.5 million tonnes of biomass and other fuels, and 2.4 million cubic metres of natural gas.
Over 60 billion cubic metres of cooling water from the Forth Estuary has passed through the station.
The plant operators said the closure marks a “sad day” for everyone at Longannet and the end of the coal age in Scotland.
