[2] Because the station's site was surrounded by water on two sides, its strata were variable and so all of the buildings' foundations were piled.

In the final years of its operating life it retained a high availability, to meet the peaks of winter evening electricity demands.

[1] Irish utility company ESB Group purchased an 85% stake in the project from Carlton Power in September 2008.

The station is also a combined heat and power plant, capable of providing nearby businesses with steam, if they require a supply.

Bridestone were granted planning permission to build the station by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in July 2008.

Shipments from global locations such as China, Indonesia, Germany, Poland and Spain navigated to Ellesmere port in Cheshire and eventually along the Manchester Ship Canal to the Carrington site.

ESB claimed that this was 50% more efficient than road transport and that 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions were prevented as a result.

Given the large workforce at the project, a ‘green travel plan’ was also implemented where workers were transported to and from the site via double-decker buses from satellite car parks.

Due to the sustainable approaches adopted during construction of the station, the project was shortlisted for a UK corporate responsibility award in 2014.

The CCPP uses both a gas and a steam turbine together, to produce up to 50 per cent more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant.

The station generates enough power to meet the electricity needs of one million homes in the UK and began commercial operation on 18 September 2016.

In 2013, Severfield plc contracted with the Duro Felguera group to provide steelwork for the new Carrington Power Station.

Severfield obtained adjudication under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 for £2,470,231.97, and then sought summary judgement from the High Court of Justice to enforce payment for a reduced amount of £1,445,495.78.

Judge Smith refused because part of the sum related to a power plant and was therefore excluded from the 1996 Act, and the adjudicator's jurisdiction.

[13] Each power train includes an Alstom GT26 gas turbine, a horizontal triple-pressure Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG), a TOPGAS hydrogen-cooled generator and an Alstom STF15C triple pressure reheat steam turbine with axial exhaust and all other auxiliaries to operate the plant.

The gas turbine incorporates two combustors that operate simultaneously and sequentially, providing higher thermal efficiencies with lower temperatures and emissions.