10 nostalgic photos of Nottinghamshire's Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station over the years

In just under three months, the UK’s last operation coal power station will close for good. 

Ratcliffe-on-Soar, just off the A453, opened in 1968, having been commissioned five years earlier. 

Over its 56 years, the electricity generated has produced enough energy to make more than 1 billion cups of tea per day and over 21 trillion overall.

Last week the power station received its final delivery of coal, a 1,650 tonne shipment, bringing more than five decades of energy production to an end. 

Ratcliffe will officially close on September 30, with its decommissioning process commencing the following day. 

Once the two-year-long decommissioning process is complete, the power station and its cooling towers will be demolished.

The power station’s owner, Uniper, wants the site to become a zero-carbon technology and energy hub.

Ratcliffe’s position next to the A453 has made it something of a Nottinghamshire landmark, with countless residents passing its cooling towers when returning to the county. 

We’ve picked out 10 photos which capture Rafcliffe’s dominance in the Nottinghamshire skyline over the past 56 years.