One chimney Santa won’t be coming down!

IT has dominated the coastal skyline of Fife for more than 50 years.

But yesterday the chimney at Scotland’s last remaining coal-fired power station was demolished on a ‘landmark day’.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pushed the button to ignite 1,500lbs of explosives to bring down the chimney stack which has stood at Longannet for more than 50 years.

The country has been coal-free since Scottish-Power closed the station in 2016 and the company now generates green electricity through wind and solar farms.

Ahead of the demolition, the slogan Make Coal History was projected on the chimney stack. Miss Sturgeon said: ‘Today’s event is a symbolic reminder we have ended coal-fired power generation in Scotland, as we work in a just way towards becoming net-zero by 2045.’

Longannet began generation in 1970 and was the largest coal-fired power station in Europe when it was built. At the height of operations, it burned coal from around the world including from as far away as Russia and Colombia, as well as from Scottish open-cast mines.

Typically, it consumed four million tons of coal per year and at full production could make enough electricity to power two million homes.

Keith Anderson, chief executive of Scottish-Power, said: ‘As a 100 per cent energy company, we are committed to helping the UK end its reliance on fossil fuels.

‘Watching the chimney of Scotland’s last coal-fired station fall today represents a real milestone, as the UK moves away from the large polluting power stations of the past and accelerates down the road to net-zero emissions.’

Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, said: ‘It’s an historic moment to see the chimney of Scotland’s last coal-fired power station come down.’