Carbon Capture Plans at Park Adfer EfW
Decarbonisation efforts in North Wales advances
enfinium, a leading UK energy from waste business, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Eni UK, the UK subsidiary of global energy company Eni S.p.A, to support the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) at its Parc Adfer facility in North Wales.
By capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from its existing energy from waste infrastructure, enfinium has the potential to take significant volumes of emissions out of the atmosphere using CCS – known as ‘carbon removals’ or ‘negative emissions’, where biogenic material that has absorbed carbon from the atmosphere is permanently sequestered.
This agreement is the first step towards achieving this goal at Parc Adfer, one of Wales’s two energy from waste facilities.
Eni UK is the developer and the operator of the carbon dioxide (CO2) transport and storage infrastructure for the HyNet North West cluster, one of the two priority projects selected by the UK Government to deliver on its commitment to deploy CCU in two industrial clusters by the mid-2020s (known as the Track-1 CCS Cluster Sequencing Process).
enfinium operates the Parc Adfer site on behalf of five councils across North Wales. Every year it diverts 200,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste from landfill, using it to generate reliable, homegrown energy, powering more than 45,000 UK homes and businesses. With carbon capture technology installed at the site, the firm is confident it would result in the net removal of over 100,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year. It would also accelerate North Wales’s decarbonisation efforts and create new clean growth opportunities for the area.
Mike Maudsley, CEO of enfinium, said:
“We are pleased to announce our partnership with Eni UK, marking a significant step on our journey to decarbonise our operations and the wider North Wales region. Energy from waste is the only proven long-term solution for sustainably managing unrecyclable waste, which is why we continue to look for innovations to reduce and capture emissions. If connected to the HyNet North West cluster, Parc Adfer would take emissions out of the atmosphere while also generating carbon negative electricity to support Wales’s renewable power targets.”
Ruth Herbert, CEO Carbon Capture and Storage Association, said:
“It’s great to see our members enfinium and Eni working together on plans for Energy from Waste with Carbon Capture and Storage, which can help Wales meet key policy goals – reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill, providing decarbonised electricity, and ensuring greenhouse gases from biogenic waste are removed from the atmosphere. With this project, North Wales could contribute to the government’s engineered greenhouse gas removals target of 5 million tonnes by 2030.”
Ben Burggraaf, CEO Net Zero Industry Wales, said:
“Today’s announcement is a welcome step in Wales’s journey to become the country of choice for sustainable goods and services. This partnership would significantly decarbonise the waste sector in North Wales, which would support a circular economy and attract significant green investment in the Deeside industrial area.”
Press Release
Workplace Recycling Regulations Update
Written Statement: Workplace Recycling Regulations Update
Today, Julie James, Minister for Climate Change provided further information relating to the Workplace Recycling Reforms, which will require all business, public and third sector workplaces to separate key recyclable materials in the same way householders already do across the majority of Wales. It reads:
My previous statement on the workplace recycling regulations issued on 27 April 2023, accompanied the publication of the summaries of the responses to the public consultations held between November 2022 and February 2023 on both the draft Code of Practice and proposed approach to enforcement and sanctions.
- Summary of responses - Separate collection of waste materials for recycling: a code of practice for Wales
- Summary of responses - Proposals for enforcing business, public and third sector recycling regulations in Wales
Having carefully considered the positive consultation feedback, I am now outlining the Government’s proposed approach to the proposals that were consulted on as follows:
- Phasing in for hospitals: we will be proceeding with the proposal for hospitals to be subject to the separation requirements two years after the regulations come into force. The ban on sending food waste to sewer will apply to hospitals straight away;
- Phasing in the requirement to separate out all small waste electrical and electronic equipment: we will be proceeding with the proposal for a requirement to separate out unsold small electrical and electronic equipment initially, as consulted upon we intend to bring forward a requirement to separate out all small electrical and electronic equipment waste from non-domestic premises to be phased in up to two years after the coming into force date;
- Phasing in the requirement to separate out all textiles: we will be proceeding with proposal for a requirement to separate out unsold textiles initially, as consulted upon we intend to bring forward a requirement to separate out all textiles from non-domestic premises to be phased in up to three years after the coming into force date;
- Handling of cartons: we will also be proceeding with the proposal for cartons and other fibre-based composite packaging of a similar composition to cartons to be placed in the same stream as metal and plastic.
The proposal to phase in all small waste electrical and electronic equipment and textiles up to two years and three years later respectively will be introduced by way of new regulations in the future.
In light of the feedback provided to the consultation regarding the doubts over whether the threshold for applying a stop notice of ‘presenting a serious risk to the environment’ could be met or measured, I can confirm that it is the Government’s intention to not proceed with the proposal to make stop notices available to the regulator for offences related to the regulations.
The workplace recycling regulations will build on our successful household recycling reforms, where our high rate of recycling in Wales already saves us around 400,000 tonnes of carbon per annum and provides important materials back into the economy. In rolling out the approach to our workplaces, we will not only be taking action on the climate and nature emergency, but also providing important benefits to the economy, by capturing a resilient supply of high-quality recycled materials.
This statement is being issued during recess in order to keep members informed. Should members wish me to make a further statement or to answer questions on this when the Senedd returns I would be happy to do so.