25 Mar. 2025: A power plant to support a 660 job development has been approved by Welsh Government. Turkish firm Eren Holding is repurposing Shotton Mill on Deeside to create one of the largest and most advanced paper mills in the world.
They are converting the former newsprint site to containerboard and tissue manufacturing, with a capacity of 750,000 tonnes a year of containerboard and 210,000 tonnes a year of tissue. The firm says the site will have the capacity to recycle all of the wastepaper generated in Wales.
A key part of this was a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) facility, with up to 69 MWe capacity. The company said the CHP plant would allow Shotton to be more fuel efficient and limit fuel waste, and would in future use hydrogen gas as a fuel source.
The company said: “We want to expand operations and, although we are retaining the existing renewable energy facility and other existing energy generation, the expanded mill will require up to 69MW of electricity as well as large volumes of heat for the paper-making process. A CHP facility will supply highly efficient low-carbon energy to the mill and make Shotton Mill self-sufficient in energy supply.”
It was considered a Development of National Significance (DNS) and therefore submitted to the Welsh Government.
The government has now given the plant the go-ahead following a recommendation to approve by a planning inspector.
Jayne Bryant, Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, said: "Wrexham and Deeside is designated as a National Growth Area in Future Wales and is a focus for strategic economic growth. The Deeside Industrial Estate lies within the National Growth Area and the proposed development supports local and national ambitions for sustainable economic growth.
"The Inspector considers, although a major development in itself, the impacts of the proposed CHP are acceptable or minor and mitigated either through design or by the imposition of conditions. I agree with the Inspector’s appraisal of the main considerations, the conclusions of the IR(Inspector's report) and the reasoning behind them, and I accept the recommendation."
Owen Hughes, Daily Post chief reporter, Wales Online.