Between the Ears: Dying Embers: The UK's last Coal-Fired Power Station

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Between the Ears: Dying Embers: The UK's last Coal-Fired Power Stations

Dying Embers: The UK's last Coal-Fired Power Stations

BBC Radio 3 - Between the Ears, Dying Embers: The UK's last Coal-Fired Power Stations

Andrew Carter’s coal-to-kettle soundscape pays homage to these vast cathedrals of power.

Andrew Carter’s coal-to-kettle soundscape pays homage to these vast cathedrals of power, capturing, before it’s too late, the sounds that would otherwise be lost to history.

The UKs last remaining coal-fired power stations are about to close, bringing to an end our use of coal to produce our electricity. West Burton is one of the last coal-fired power stations still generating electricity, and Andrew Carter was able to record a soundscape there before it fell silent for ever.

West Burton was originally planned to close in September 2022, but the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has extended its operations until the spring of 2023 to help with the energy crisis.

Andrew's late father was a mechanical engineer, and he was involved in the power construction industry in the 60s, and fifty years ago he took Andrew around Cottam power station – which is just up the road from West Burton – and as you can imagine that tour around the plant left a big impression on an eight-year-old.

As luck would have it, when Andrew was recording at West Burton, he was able to go to Cottam, which is in the process of being demolished, and he walked again in his father’s footsteps. It brought back a lot of poignant memories.

This soundscape in an operating and disused coal-fired power station is Andrew's homage to his father, before these cathedrals of power are reduced to rubble, capturing, before it’s too late, the sounds that would otherwise be lost to history.

A BBC Radio Cumbria production, produced by Andrew Carter

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