In a power station, noise is not inevitable. Even when electricity production is based on the use of combustion turbines, which are noise sources of very high (acoustic) power, solutions exist to limit the sound impact of the various equipment necessary for the proper operation of such a plant.
Enclosures reduce the noise radiated by the body of the turbomachines, while silencers allow to prevent the propagation of noise through the openings provided for the ventilation of soundproof buildings (which sometimes requires very sophisticated systems) , for the supply of filtered combustion air (here high-tech installations are required too), and also for exhausting the flue gases (in order to limit the sound level of chimneys often large): at the outlet of the turbine if it comes to a simple cycle operation or at the outlet of a recovery boiler if it comes to a combined cycle operation.
The quality of the design of industrial soundproofing hardware with regard to imperatives other than acoustics that are not at all secondary (e.g. aerodynamics, stability of the structures in climatic and site conditions often causing stresses strongly impacting the engineering works), the quality of the construction, its durability, the ease of disassembly and reassembly for maintenance are all criteria which are important for the plant operator, and which can be satisfied simultaneously and with certainty only by a limited number of specialized companies around the world.
ITS will take part in the erection of a silent power station with 3 high-power combustion turbines (more than 120 MW in single cycle, more than 190 MW in combined cycle) in the Middle East.
The halls for turbomachines will be distinguishable by their high performance in terms of acoustics, with a system of metallic multilayered soundproofing panels for both walls and roofs (of large size), specially designed to limit the amplification of noise levels inside the buildings and to prevent noise transmission towards outside (being gas-tight), while being easy to set up and disassemble when necessary.
Silencers will prevent the noise transmission trough openings dedicated for ventilation due to encapsiulated machinery and due to fans, being noisy per nature.
With such constructive arrangements, the neighborhood will be preserved from any noise discomfort related to the acoustic radiation of the buildings of the power staion, which will be sufficiently silent.