Deeside’s Parc Adfer ‘energy from waste’ facility praised by CBI for enhancing region’s energy resilience

A new report by the CBI has praised the Parc Adfer energy from waste facility in Deeside for its role in creating green jobs and enhancing the region’s energy resilience.

The facility, operated by UK energy from waste business enfinium, is a collaboration between the Welsh Government and the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Partnership.

The incinerator processes both Municipal Solid Waste (household) and Commercial and Industrial waste and became operational in January 2020.

Parc Adfer is managed under a Public-Private Partnership involving Flintshire, Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, and Denbighshire councils, it means that waste from those other areas of north Wales is brought to Deeside and processed

Annually, the facility burns around 2.3 million tonnes of non-recyclable waste, generating enough energy to power over 45,000 homes and businesses.

The reports states that in 2022 enfinium’s contributed nearly £198 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy.

The Parc Adfer facility supported 37 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs in the region, with 94% of employees living within a 40-mile radius.

Furthermore, median full-time wages for enfinium’s Parc Adfer staff stood at nearly £53,000 per year, a notable increase compared to the average regional wage across Wales of £23,898.

The study also showed that over 600 businesses across the UK benefited from enfinium’s wider operations, which spanned more than half of the UK’s local authorities.

In addition to its economic impact, Parc Adfer contributes £50,000 annually to the Flintshire County Council Community Benefit Fund and collaborates with the North Wales Wildlife Trust on biodiversity projects at the site.

Mike Maudsley, CEO of enfinium, emphasized the importance of transitioning to a Net Zero economy and highlighted the role of modern energy from waste facilities like Parc Adfer in generating green growth and tackling climate change.

Mark Tami, MP for Alyn & Deeside, commended the report’s findings as evidence of Deeside’s progress in attracting green investment and creating high-quality jobs to support climate change targets.

Like all other combustion plants burning solid or liquid fuels, the incineration process produces emissions in the form of acid gases, particulates, dioxins and heavy metals to air and ash residues.

In 2021 The Welsh Government placed an “immediate moratorium” on the building of new large scale energy from waste plants in Wales.

It came after Wales achieved record recycling rates of over 65%.

“As a result the need to burn waste, or send it to landfill, will reduce and the Welsh Government is putting in place an immediate moratorium.”

During the planning process for Parc Adfer it was noted that rising recycling rates in north Wales would mean that site could be obsolete within the near future.