Planning approved for £200m carbon capture at Parc Adfer

Grace Kim

A £200 million carbon capture facility beside the Parc Adfer waste-to-energy plant in Connah’s Quay won approval from Flintshire County Council after the authority deferred a decision because nearby English communities had not been consulted. The vote grants local planning permission for the proposed unit. A separate environmental permit and a HyNet North West connection remain outstanding.

Councillors deferred the application in early October after questioning why Burton, Shotwick and Puddington had not received direct consultation. Senior planning officer Robin Wynne Williams told members: “We haven’t consulted directly with neighbouring community or parish councils over the border.”

Councillor Carol Ellis said some English communities sat closer than parts of Connah’s Quay and argued that those residents should have a say. Andrew Parkhurst proposed postponing the decision, warning that Welsh communities would be unhappy if a border development proceeded without neighboring councils.

Parc Adfer opened in 2019 and processes up to 232,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste each year. Its feedstock comes from Flintshire, Denbighshire, Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey. The proposal targets the carbon dioxide released while this unrecyclable waste undergoes treatment.

The proposed capture plant is designed to capture around 241,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. The October plans put its capture rate at up to 95%. Parc Adfer has operating waste capacity, but no capture unit operates there yet.

Operator enfinium says the scheme would become Wales’s largest carbon removals project. Captured carbon dioxide would go for permanent storage beneath Liverpool Bay. The UK Government separately shortlisted the project for connection to HyNet North West, a transport and storage network under construction in the region.

Captured carbon dioxide would be compressed and carried through the network. It would then be stored in depleted gas reservoirs beneath Liverpool Bay. HyNet North West is being developed to collect carbon dioxide from industrial sites in north Wales and north-west England.

Officers reported 18 late objections at the October meeting. The objections challenged the effectiveness of carbon capture technology and HyNet North West. Residents on the Wirral and in Cheshire raised concerns about noise, pollution and effects on the River Dee.

Flintshire officers and enfinium told the committee that the application addressed those concerns. The company also said Natural Resources Wales was satisfied the development would not adversely affect the integrity of the Dee Estuary. At the October meeting, the agency was considering an application to vary the plant’s environmental permit, a separate means of regulating the proposed facility.

Following confirmation of planning approval, enfinium chief executive Mike Maudsley said: “We welcome Flintshire County Council’s decision to approve our plans to develop carbon capture at Parc Adfer. This is an important milestone for the project and demonstrates that we are making progress towards delivering Wales’s largest carbon removals project.”

He also said enfinium remained committed to working with the UK and Welsh governments and partners. The company said the project could deliver economic and environmental benefits for North Wales.

What does the approval change for Parc Adfer?

The decision removes the local planning obstacle to a project designed to capture 241,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from the waste stream processed at Connah’s Quay. It leaves the environmental permit with Natural Resources Wales and the HyNet selection process with the UK Government.

The next decisive milestone is regulatory. Natural Resources Wales must rule on the permit variation. The UK Government’s anticipated review later this year will assess the HyNet cluster and projects that could supply its network.

Those decisions will determine whether the £200 million proposal advances toward construction and operation. Flintshire’s vote settles local consent; NRW’s permit decision and the HyNet review remain the gates ahead.