Energy-from-waste operator Enfinium has submitted a planning application for a £200 million carbon capture installation at its Parc Adfer waste processing facility in Connah’s Quay, North Wales.

The proposal involves retrofitting post-combustion carbon capture technology onto the existing plant, which currently incinerates non-recyclable residual waste from five North Wales local authorities to generate electricity for 45,000 homes.

The facility extension is designed to process 232,000 tons of residual waste annually while capturing 241,000 tons of carbon dioxide. The variance between waste throughput and captured CO2 stems from the addition of pure oxygen during oxygen-enhanced combustion, with the plant targeting a 95% overall carbon capture efficiency rate.

Planning officers at Flintshire County Council have recommended the project for approval ahead of a formal committee vote scheduled for Oct. 7, 2026.

Captured emissions from the site will feed directly into the cross-border HyNet regional carbon transport network.

The CO2 stream will travel via underground pipeline across Flintshire to the Point of Ayr terminal before being pumped into depleted natural gas fields beneath the Irish Sea for permanent geological storage.

“The proposed development would deliver a substantial reduction in the facility’s net carbon dioxide emissions, contributing materially to Wales’s statutory decarbonisation targets,” noted Dave Fitzsimon, Chief Officer for Place and Growth, in his planning report.

The application includes a standard regulatory condition requiring the carbon capture plant to operate until Dec. 31, 2050, aligning the asset’s lifespan with the UK and Welsh governments’ statutory net-zero mandates.

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