Salfordians woken by strange mechanical noises in the middle of the night could finally have a source for their misery.
Carrington Power Station has admitted it has caused loud noise disturbances in the middle of the night over the past seven to eight days.
In a statement a spokesperson for the new gas-fired 880MW power station said they had received around 25 direct noise complaints after testing turbines in the middle of the night.
Engineers have to run the turbines for 14 hours straight, then turn them off for five hours at a time.
Under construction on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal – October 2014
“We started to get complaints from residents who live nearby in Flixton, and also across the Manchester Ship Canal in Irlam and Cadishead,” the spokesperson said.
“These are short-term issues: when the plant is up and running it will not make these kinds of noises because that is not how it operates.”
The first “commissioning process”, where gas turbines are fired, started around 23 March.
Large plumes of what look like white smoke are emitted.
Plant bosses moved to dispel fears by saying this was just water vapour and was a “normal part of the commissioning process”.
But more noise is expected to start again in mid-April, when the second phase of the “commissioning process” starts again.
Joint operators GE Power and DF Energy said the testing is expected to last 8-11 days with varying levels of possible noise and steam.
Carrington Power Station is expected to start operating by September 2016.
Over the past few weeks, scores of readers across Greater Manchester have said they have been woken up between 2am and 4am by unknown sounds.
The noises were variously described as “loud rumbling”, “mechanical clanking” “whooshing sounds” or “like an aircraft constantly going overhead”.
The nature of noise being what it is – with multiple interpretations – it can’t be said definitively that Carrington is the ultimate source of the problem.
And it would appear to be too far south for the reports of noise disturbances in Swinton, Walkden and beyond.
No solution? What are the strange noises keeping Salford awake?
In Salford, the epicentre of the noise would appear to be Buile Hill Park, judging by the comments on this previous story, and in SalfordOnline.com’s 17,000-member Facebook group.
Trafford Council and Salford City Council have received multiple noise complaints but until now no agency had come out to take responsibility for loud noises in the early hours of the morning.
A spokesperson for Carrington Power Station said: “First of all, we would like to apologise for the disturbance caused over the weekend.
“We are currently in the middle of the commissioning phase of the power station and it was necessary to run the plant over a number of continuous hours as part of this process.
“This is the final phase of the construction of the power station and in no way reflects how the plant will operate in the future.”
In August 2015 operators Alstom and DF Energy warned locals and those living on the opposite side of the Manchester Ship Canal
that pneumatic gas pipeline testing could cause disturbances until late in the evening.
The procedure sees high-pressure nitrogen gas forced through power station pipes to highlight leaks or problems with the system.
Read: Warning of evening and weekend noise for gas testing
The power station said it had taken “every possible measure” to reduce disturbances for neighbours, using silencers to reduce noise levels of steam emissions, and not running work over the Bank Holiday weekend.
“Once again we would like to stress that this is a temporary activity and we are endeavouring to have it completed as carefully as possible with the smallest impact on our neighbours.”
Construction began on Carringon Power Station in 2013.
The start of commercial operation has now been pushed back from spring to September 2016.
