Enfinium Wins Approval For Wales Carbon Capture Plant 2026

Key Points

• I am pleased to share that Flintshire County Council’s planning committee has granted planning permission for enfinium’s proposed carbon capture plant at Parc Adfer on Deeside Industrial Park near Connah’s Quay, North Wales.
• I also note that the approval was given on Wednesday, 4 November 2026 with one abstention and no votes against.
• The project is valued at about £200 million and enfinium describes the project as Wales’s carbon removals project.
• The proposed after-burning carbon capture facility would capture up to 95% of the 241,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted annually by the existing energy recovery facility.
• Captured carbon dioxide would be compressed and transported by pipeline for storage beneath Liverpool Bay; the pipeline itself is not included in the approved planning application.
• The committee had deferred its decision on 7 October 2026 after concerns that English communities near the border including Burton, Shotwick and Puddington had not been directly consulted.
• Natural Resources Wales did not object, subject to conditions including a pollution incident response plan.
• Approval is subject to conditions and a Section 106 legal agreement requiring off‑site biodiversity habitat creation or enhancement, plus management and monitoring for least 30 years.
• The carbon capture process is expected to reduce Parc Adfer’s electricity exports, to the National Grid from enough for 45,000 homes to enough for about 6,320 homes.
• The carbon capture plant cannot operate until Natural Resources Wales grants. Varies the relevant environmental permit.

Wales (Wales Times) November 6, 2026 – Enfinium has secured planning permission for a carbon capture facility at its Parc Adfer energy recovery plant in Deeside, North Wales, in a decision that advances what the company describes as Wales’s largest carbon removals project.

Flintshire County Council’s planning committee approved the £200 million proposal on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. The decision permits enfinium to build and operate a post-combustion carbon capture plant and associated works beside its existing Parc Adfer energy recovery facility, off Weighbridge Road on Deeside Industrial Park.

As reported by Neil Tague of Place North West, the application sought permission to capture carbon dioxide from exhaust gases currently released by the existing energy recovery facility. The proposed plant would cover 21,600 sq ft and the captured gas would ultimately be sent by pipeline to a deep geological storage site offshore.

What has Flintshire County Council approved?

The council approved a full planning application, referenced FUL/000916/25, for the construction and operation of a post-combustion carbon capture plant at the existing Parc Adfer site. The application was submitted by enfinium Ltd, with Savills and LDA Design advising on the proposals.

The approval does not itself authorise the wider carbon dioxide transport network. As reported by Planning Geek, the permission relates to the capture equipment at Parc Adfer, while the proposed pipeline and offshore storage arrangements form separate elements of the wider HyNet carbon capture and storage system.

The planning committee’s decision was passed by a majority, with Councillor Adele Davies-Cooke abstaining and no councillor voting against. The approval is conditional and depends on a Section 106 legal agreement.

How much carbon dioxide could be captured?

According to the plans presented to councillors, the facility is designed to capture around 241,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, at a capture rate of up to 95%. Parc Adfer currently burns up to 232,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste annually and releases about 241,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to Flintshire County Council’s planning report.

The waste treated at Parc Adfer comes from Flintshire, Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd and Anglesey. The existing facility converts that waste into 21 megawatts of electricity, which is exported to the National Grid.

During the committee meeting, Tom Dearing, a chartered environmental assessor for Savills, said the 95% target was based on testing work carried out by enfinium. As reported by LeaderLive, he said: “The 95% carbon capture rate is one Enfinium is confident in achieving.”

He added that the environmental permitting process would require the company to use best available techniques and that the minimum performance target set through that process was 95%. Evidence would also be provided to Natural Resources Wales through the permitting process.

Why was the decision delayed?

The committee initially deferred the application on 7 October 2026. Councillors had questioned why communities across the border in England, including Burton, Shotwick and Puddington, had not been directly consulted.

The deferral allowed consultation with Natural England, Cheshire West and Chester Council and other relevant bodies. After those communities were consulted, planning officers again recommended approval when the committee met on 4 November.

Officers and enfinium told councillors that the concerns raised had been addressed in the application. The company also said Natural Resources Wales was satisfied that the development would not adversely affect the integrity of the Dee Estuary.

What conditions apply to the approval?

The permission is subject to planning conditions and a Section 106 legal agreement. Under that agreement, enfinium must create wildlife habitat elsewhere in Flintshire and manage it for at least 30 years.

As reported by Place North West, the agreement will cover the location and full details of the off-site “Net Benefit for Biodiversity” habitat creation or enhancement scheme, long-term management and monitoring arrangements for at least 30 years, and a mechanism for review and remediation if management objectives are not met.

Natural Resources Wales did not object to the proposals, subject to conditions including a pollution incident response plan. However, the carbon capture plant cannot begin operating until the regulator issues or varies the relevant environmental permit.

What did enfinium say after the decision?

Following confirmation of the approval, enfinium chief executive Mike Maudsley welcomed the council’s decision. As reported by Nation.Cymru, he said: “We welcome Flintshire County Council’s decision to approve our plans to develop carbon capture at Parc Adfer.”

He described the approval as “an important milestone” and said it showed progress towards delivering Wales’s largest carbon removals project.

Maudsley added: “We remain committed to working with the UK and Welsh Governments and our partners to deliver this project and unlock the economic and environmental benefits it can bring to North Wales.”

In its own announcement, enfinium said the installation of carbon capture technology would make Parc Adfer the largest carbon removals project in Wales, support skilled jobs, generate regional growth and support efforts to create a sustainable circular economy.

How will the plant affect electricity exports?

The carbon capture process will require a substantial share of the electricity generated at Parc Adfer. As reported by LeaderLive, the new facility will use electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of 38,000 homes.

At present, Parc Adfer exports 21 megawatts of electricity, enough to power the equivalent of 45,000 homes. Once carbon capture is operating, only 7.9 megawatts would be available for export, enough for about 6,320 homes.

Councillor Chris Bithell acknowledged the reduction in exported electricity. He told the committee that some electricity previously going to the grid would be used by the new process, but said carbon capture could serve as a medium-term method of reducing emissions while wider decarbonisation continues.

Were there concerns about the 95% target?

Councillor Andrew Parkhurst questioned whether the published 95% capture rate was an estimate or a realistic prospect. As reported by LeaderLive, he referred to statements from the European Union and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis suggesting that real-world capture rates at similar plants may be closer to 50%.

“Is 95% an aspiration or is it a realistic prospect based on solid evidence?” he asked.

In response, Mr Dearing said enfinium had engaged with several technology providers over the previous three or four years and had tested a pilot plant to assure itself that the predicted performance could be achieved. He said the performance would be monitored through the environmental permit.

Background of the development

Parc Adfer is an energy recovery facility operated by enfinium on Deeside Industrial Park, near Connah’s Quay in Flintshire. It treats non-recyclable waste from several north Wales authorities and converts it into electricity.

The carbon capture proposal forms part of the wider HyNet industrial cluster, which aims to connect emitters in North Wales and northwest England to shared carbon dioxide transport and offshore storage infrastructure. The captured carbon dioxide from Parc Adfer is intended to be transported through the HyNet pipeline for permanent storage beneath Liverpool Bay.

The planning application followed a pre-application consultation between 8 September and 6 October, according to the project’s consultation website. enfinium had also previously submitted an environmental permit application for the proposed facility.

The committee’s approval comes ahead of an anticipated UK Government review later this year of the HyNet cluster and the projects that could supply its network.

Prediction: what could this mean for local residents and businesses?

For residents in Flintshire and nearby parts of Cheshire, the decision is likely to shift attention from planning consent to delivery, permitting and construction. The project cannot operate until Natural Resources Wales completes the environmental permitting process, and conditions relating to pollution incident planning and biodiversity management will shape how the development is monitored.

For local businesses, the project could create work during construction and in later operation and maintenance, although the approved planning documents do not specify a precise jobs figure. enfinium has said the development would support skilled jobs and regional growth, while the project’s consultation material has also referred to construction and operational employment.

For North Wales’s waste authorities and energy sector, the approval could make Parc Adfer an early test of whether carbon capture can be retrofitted at scale to an existing energy-from-waste site. Its performance against the 95% target, its electricity use, and the progress of the HyNet transport and storage network are likely to determine whether similar projects elsewhere are pursued.