Connah’s Quay power station project moves to decision stage as examination ends
The six-month examination of Uniper’s plans for a new carbon capture power station at Connah’s Quay has closed, moving the project into its decision stage.
The Planning Inspectorate examination ended at midnight on Tuesday, 9 June.
The examining inspectors now have up to three months to send their recommendation to the UK Government, with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero then having up to three months to make the final decision.
The Connah’s Quay Low Carbon Power Project would see a new gas-fired power station fitted with carbon capture built on Uniper’s land next to the existing station off Kelsterton Road.
It would be developed in two phases with a total capacity of up to 1.38GW, with captured carbon dioxide piped into the HyNet network for permanent storage in depleted gas fields under Liverpool Bay.
Uniper has said the first phase could be operating by 2030 if consent is granted.
The examination opened in January and included public hearings in January and March, with sessions.
Hearings provisionally set for early May were cancelled after the inspectors decided they were no longer needed.
The examination closed with a number of objections unresolved.
Flintshire County Council lodged 30 unresolved objections at the final deadline, covering noise, traffic on Kelsterton Road, wildlife surveys and protected habitats on the Dee Estuary.
Natural Resources Wales and Natural England both told the examination that Uniper’s measures for limiting damage to the internationally protected Dee Estuary were not good enough, with concerns over nitrogen pollution affecting saltmarsh and the loss of fields used by wintering curlew.
Tata Steel, which operates Shotton Steelworks, has maintained its objection, saying the application does not yet secure sufficient controls to ensure the safe operation of the works.
An earlier dispute over the station’s chimney heights and the protected airspace around Hawarden Airport was resolved after Uniper lowered the stacks, with Airbus confirming in April it had no objection.
A public hearing at the Village Hotel in Ewloe heard concerns from residents about Uniper’s consultation and the visual impact of the station, with the lead examining inspector pressing the company on how it had taken local views into account.
Uniper has defended its assessments throughout the examination, saying it stands by its landscape and visual work and that construction impacts would be managed through a detailed traffic management plan.
Flintshire County Council took part throughout, submitting its local impact report, the council’s formal assessment of how the project would affect the area, in February.
Because the station would exceed 350 megawatts, the project is classed as nationally significant infrastructure and the decision rests with the UK Government rather than Flintshire County Council.
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