The Anonymous Widower

Welsh Manufacturing Boost As Sizewell C Awards Contract To Boccard UK

The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Sizewell C.

These two bullet-points act as sub-headings.

  • Boccard UK will deliver Pools, Tanks, and Sumps (PTS) scope elements for Sizewell C
  • Tanks will be manufactured at fully-digitised Deeside facility in North Wales, which supports over 200 jobs

These two paragraphs add some more details.

Sizewell C has awarded a major contract to Boccard UK to deliver its critical Pools, Tanks, and Sumps (PTS) scope elements – with manufacturing to take place in its Deeside facility in North Wales.

Over the four-year programme, Boccard UK will be responsible for the fabrication and pre-assembly of high-integrity stainless steel tanks. These components will be embedded within key reinforced concrete structures across Sizewell C’s Nuclear Island and will play an essential role in the power station’s long-term operation.

Note.

  1. Boccard UK is a subsidiary of long-established family-owned Boccard.
  2. Bruno Boccard and Patrick Boccard serve as the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs).
  3. Where will the stainless steel come from?
  4. Will finished products be delivered to Sizewell C by rail?

This Google Map shows Deesside Industrial Park.

Note.

  1. The Boccard UK site is indicated by the red arrow.
  2. The Borderlands Line between Liverpool and Wrexham runs more or less North-South across the middle of the map.
  3. There is certainly a lot of solar power in the area.
  4. Deesside Parkway station will be built where Weighbridge Road crosses the railway.
  5. The station will be ideally placed for Sustrans Cycle Route 568, which goes from the Wirral to Chester via Hawarden Bridge.

I have added Deesside Parkway station to my list of stations to visit, when hopefully it opens at the end of 2027.

Does Deeside Industrial Park Have a Rail Freight Connection?

I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this answer.

Deeside Industrial Park does not have a general-use rail freight terminal. While parts of the adjacent Borderlands Line are used by industrial rail traffic—such as the Dee Marsh Reception Sidings and the Tata Steel site at Shotton—general businesses primarily rely on road freight. For broader rail freight connections, companies typically use facilities at the Port of Liverpool or the Euro Freight Line terminal in Crewe.

Despite that answer, if one of the tenants of the Deeside Industrial Park wanted a rail connection, I’m sure it could be arranged.

This Google Map shows the Dee Marsh Sidings and the adjacent businesses.

Note.

  1. The Borderlands Line between Liverpool and Wrexham runs more or less North-South across the middle of the map.
  2. Hawarden Bridge and Hawarden Bridge Station are in the South-West corner of the map.
  3. The Dee Marsh sidings are tucked inside the bend of the Borderlands Line.
  4. Rail lines seem to fan out to all corners of the Shotton steel works.
  5. The Boccard UK site is in the North-East corner of the map. Their site is the middle one of the five lined up on Weighbridge Road.
  6. Toyota’s engine plant fills in much of the space to the North-East of Dee Marsh Sidings.

I believe that if one of the tenants of the Deeside Industrial Park wanted a rail connection, I’m sure it could be designed and built.

July 20, 2026 Posted by | Artificial Intelligence, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

enfinium Announces Proposal For £200m Investment In Carbon Capture Project In North Wales

The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from enfinium.

This is the sub-heading.

The project could be capable of capturing up to 235,000 tonnes of CO2 every year, accelerating efforts to achieve net zero.

The first two paragraphs outline the project.

Today, enfinium, a leading UK energy from waste operator, announces it is progressing plans to invest around £200 million in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at the Parc Adfer energy from waste facility in Deeside, North Wales, providing vital carbon removals and boosting the green economy.

The project could capture up to 235,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year. As over half of the waste processed at the facility is organic, installing CCS would enable the plant to take more CO2 out of the atmosphere than it produces. The Welsh Government’s Carbon Budget makes clear that Wales needs carbon removal solutions to mitigate other polluting parts of the economy to achieve a Net Zero economy.

The press release also says this about Paec Adfer.

Opened in 2019 in partnership with the five local authorities that make up the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Partnership (NWRWTP), Parc Adfer currently diverts up to 232,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste from climate damaging landfill. As recognised by the National Infrastructure Commission, emissions from energy from waste plants are lower per tonne of waste compared to landfill.

With CCS installed, Parc Adfer will support the Welsh Government’s ambition to have 100% zero carbon power by 2035 and support over 1,000 jobs in the green economy during the construction phase.

This Google Map shows the location of Parc Adfer, with respect to Liverpool and the River Dee.

Note.

  1. Liverpool is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. Chester is in the South-East corner of the map.
  3. The Dee Estuary is in the North-West corner of the map.
  4. The red arrow indicates the location of Parc Adfer.

This second Google Map shows the location of Parc Adfer in Deeside Industrial Park, which is just over the England-Wales border.

As before, the red arrow indicates the location of Parc Adfer.

This third Google Map shows the detailed area of Parc Adfer.

Note.

  1. The red arrow indicates the location of Parc Adfer.
  2. The Borderlands Line between Liverpool and Wrexham runs alongside the site.
  3. Around Parc Adfer are assorted steel works and the Flintshire Bridge HVDC Convertor Station for the Western HVDC Link to Hunterston in Scotland.
  4. On the other side of the tracks are Amazon, Great Bear Distribution, Toyota, Unilever and the Toyota Deeside Solar Park.

These are my thoughts.

Parc Adfer Has Excellent Electrical Connections

In addition to the 2.25 GW Western HVDC Link to Hunterston, there are following power sources in the area.

  • The wind farms of Liverpool Bay.
  • The 1.4 GW Connah’s Quay power station.
  • The 498 MW Deeside power station.

From the enfinium web site, it looks like Parc Adfer will generate 21 MW of zero-carbon energy from waste.

Will Parc Adfer Have A Rail Connection?

According to the  enfinium web site, Parc Adfer will process waste from Flintshire County Council, Denbighshire County Council, Conwy County Borough Council, Gwynedd Council and the Isle of Anglesey County Council.

I have arranged these councils in order from East to West and all are served by the North Wales Coast Line.

This OpenRailMap shows the rail connection between Parc Adfer and the North Wales Coast Line.

Note.

  1. The Borderlands Line is shown in yellow and runs between Liverpool and Wrexham.
  2. The Borderlands Line runs past Parc Adfer just off the North of the map.
  3. The North Wales Coast Line is shown in orange and runs between North Wales and Chester.
  4. There are two stations at Shotton; High and Low Levels, which allow a passenger connection.

Unfortunately, there is no rail connection for trains which would allow freight services between Parc Adfer and North Wales.

A section called Future, in the Wikipedia entry for Shotton station, says this about upgrading the station.

In March 2015 Network Rail published the draft version of their Welsh Route Study. It contained a proposal to build a new interchange station that would replace the existing High and Low Level stations, allowing for greater connectivity between the North Wales Coast Main Line and the Borderlands Line. The document recommended a transport planning study to establish the cost, feasibility and benefits of the proposed scheme.

It appears to be likely, that no rail route will be created to allow freight services between Parc Adfer and North Wales.

Deeside Parkway Railway Station

It does appear that a parkway station at Deeside Parkway is a possibility.

This is the opening paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for Deeside Parkway station.

Deeside Parkway is a proposed railway station situated between Neston and Hawarden Bridge on the Borderlands Line. The station is intended to serve the Deeside area of Flintshire, North Wales, particularly the Deeside Industrial Park.

The station is proposed to be park of the North Wales Metro, which is described in this Wikipedia entry.

 

April 14, 2024 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment