Shotton Mill in line for further redevelopment

Eren Holding wants to deliver a 69 MW combined heat and power plant along with a boiler building, a year after it was granted permission for 3.1m sq ft of new factory space at the Deeside Industrial Park site.

The Turkish company is holding two separate consultations on its most recent proposals for Shotton Mill, which was founded in 1983 to produce newsprint paper.

Newsprint production has now stopped, however the mill continues to operate in the reprocessing of recycled paper, household glass, and plastics.

Eren acquired the site from UPM Shotton in May 2021, with a mission to transform the mill into one of the UK’s largest and most technically advanced paper production facilities.

Combined heat and power plant

The first of Eren’s latest proposals to aid in its mission for Shotton Mill is classified as a development of national significance and will be submitted to the Welsh Government.

Plans to build a 69 MW CHP will supply low carbon energy to the mill by turning the waste heat produced by the facility’s energy generation into electricity.

This additional power will enable Shotton Mill to be self-sufficient in its energy supply while reaching efficiency ratings in excess of 90%, compared to around 50% at gas power stations.

Boiler building

Flintshire County Council will determine the second application, which proposes the creation of a new building within Shotton Mill to accommodate an interim boiler.

This boiler would generate steam to the already approved containerboard and tissue machines until the CHP is operational, after which the tank would become a back-up and only used during periods when the CHP is shut down for maintenance or the existing biomass boiler is offline.

A separate planning application will also be submitted to the county council to build an additional workshop and two tanks to support the expansion of and “necessitate the safe and efficient running of operations” at the Flintshire site, according to consultation documents.

The consultations for the CHP and boiler building will run until 2 January and 19 December respectively, and can be accessed at shottonmillconsultation.co.uk.