Carrington has a large gas and chemical works, which produce gases by
fractional distillation of liquid air. It used to be the site of a
Shell Chemicals refinery, which produced
polythene and
polystyrene.
Carrington Power Station was on the south bank of the
Manchester Ship Canal. Building work commenced in 1947, although land for the site was acquired in 1916. It opened in 1956, was decommissioned in the late 1980s, and demolished using explosives in 1991, having stood empty for several years. All that remains today is a large 400 kV switching station. The station had its own
railway spur from the
Glazebrook to
Stockport Tiviot Dale line, evidence of which can still be seen today from the gates where the line crossed Manchester Road. In 2007, Bridestones Developments acquired planning permission for a new CCGT (
Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) power station, to be built on the same site as the old power station. Construction of the
new power station began in 2013 and was completed in the Autumn of 2016. The new power station will generate three times the energy as the old
coal-fired power station, will occupy only half of the space of the old site and will emit only half of the carbon dioxide. Around 600 people have been involved in its construction, and, when it is finally inoperation, there will be around 40 staff employed at the power station. The new power station will generate up to 880 MW of electricity, which is enough to supply approximately one million homes. Some of the parts for the new plant were so large that they were transported to the site via the
Manchester Ship Canal ==Future==