Winding down

One hundred and forty-two years ago, the world's first coal-fired electric power station opened in London. This is Britain's last, and in its last 9 months of operation - it will close in September. Judging by the weather forecast, it will never see another January day like this one, so this could actually become quite a nostalgic picture. In fact, nostalgia for power stations has already begun - see here a lament for lost cooling towers. You cannot tell from this angle, but eight of the 45 that it says remain in the country are on this site. As far as I can discover, they are scheduled for demolition, and the site will be redeveloped as an industrial centre

Nostalgia has its limits. This plant releases 10 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. It has been the site of large-scale climate and environmental protests, some violence and a numer of arrests. Not everyone will be sorry it has gone