Press Release: Station commissioning starts

The commissioning of the 842MW Marchwood Power gas-fired power station has now started. Commissioning is the final phase of work before the station runs under “normal operations” and supplies power to the National Grid, and the work involves a series of checks and test-runs to ensure that everything at the power station is working as it should. This work is carried out by Siemens, the project contractor, in close collaboration with the senior engineering team at Marchwood Power.

An important part of commissioning is the first “firing” of the power station’s two turbines that will actually produce the electricity. The firing of the first turbine, which entails the “switching on” of the turbine for the very first time and running for about 15 minutes, is set to take place this coming weekend (March 6-8th), with the firing of the second turbine earmarked towards the end of the following week. The precise times for either of the firings can’t be confirmed as they are dependent on a number of technical items being ready at the same time.

The firing of each turbine may result in smoke being emitted for a short time from the station’s chimney stacks but there should not be any audible noise. The smoke is harmless and is caused by some of the materials used in the turbines and boiler manufacture being burned away and so there may be a “smokey” smell in the immediate area but only for a short period of time. Once the station is running normally, there will be no significant or visible emissions, nor smell, from the gas-fired power station, with the station’s emissions being strictly monitored and reported to New Forest District Council and the Environment Agency

Local residents in Marchwood have been notified about the commissioning work.

For further information about the turbine firing, please call Marchwood Power on 02380 527999 during normal working hours or 07966 782611 outside these hours (till March 9th).