Flintshire County Council’s planning committee has granted planning permission to energy recovery developer enfinium to construct and operate a post-combustion carbon capture plant at its existing Parc Adfer energy recovery facility (ERF) on Deeside Industrial Park in North Wales.
Advisers Savills and LDA Design supported the application, which authorizes the addition of a 21,600-square-foot capture installation adjacent to the operational ERF. The post-combustion processing system will separate carbon dioxide from flue gas emissions generated during unrecyclable waste treatment, compressing the captured CO2 for off-site pipeline transport.
Once operational, the plant will connect directly into the broader HyNet industrial decarbonization cluster infrastructure, transporting captured volumes to depleted offshore gas fields beneath the Irish Sea for permanent geological sequestration.
The committee’s vote followed a deferral in October to allow formal consultations with Natural England, Cheshire West and Chester Council, and relevant regulatory bodies.
Despite receiving roughly 50 public objections regarding CCS deployment and broader fossil fuel policies, the committee endorsed the planning officer’s recommendation with one abstention.
Approval authority was delegated to the chief officer for place and growth to finalize a Section 106 legal agreement. The binding agreement mandates off-site biodiversity net gain schemes alongside a long-term monitoring, management, and remediation framework covering a minimum 30-year operational window.
Industry stakeholders welcomed the approval as a critical milestone for Welsh decarbonization. Mike Maudsley, Chief Executive Officer at enfinium, noted that the decision advances progress toward delivering Wales’ largest carbon removal development while supporting the HyNet network.
Net Zero Industry Wales CEO Ben Burggraaf and Carbon Capture and Storage Association CEO Olivia Powis emphasized that capturing CO2 from energy-from-waste facilities provides durable, high-integrity carbon removals while bolstering low-carbon power availability for manufacturing supply chains across North Wales.
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