An Olympic Efficiency Feat

In the first such development during an Olympic Games, the energy consumption at several venues at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver is being monitored live. The monitoring services, provided by a local company named Pulse Energy, covers structures in the athlete’s villages, the snowmaking equipment, the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre and other facilities (Source: EnergyEfficiencynews.com, February 18). All of the energy use figures for the participating facilities are available online at this link: http://www.venueenergytracker.com/. The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee also implemented sweeping energy efficiency measures in these buildings that netted a reported energy savings of 66,000 kWh in just the first three days of the Games.  (Photo Credit:  http://www.venueenergytracker.com/).  

The Venue Energy Tracker website also provides details about how each venue was constructed or improved with energy efficiency in mind. It’s interesting to read about the various challenges that these large, world-class venues presented on the efficiency front and to see the creative solutions put in place to combat those challenges. The Richmond Olympic Oval, for example, features a roof made from recycled Pine beetle-kill trees and uses waste heat energy from ice-making for other purposes in the building, including hot water and heating/cooling systems (Source:  Vancouver2010.com).  To see a complete listing of sustainability initiatives tied in with the 2010 Games - everything from greener ticket practices to LEED Certified facilities - please click here to visit the Vancouver 2010 sustainability home page.  (Photo Credit:  http://www.venueenergytracker.com/)

In addition to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee's efficiency efforts for the 2010 games, the city of London is preparing broad energy efficiency initiatives for the 2012 Games as well.  The London Olympic Organizing Committee’s goal is to reduce the carbon emissions from the Games by 50% as compared to previous Games (those that did not attempt to curb energy use or carbon emissions).  For more information on the 2012 Games and energy efficiency, please click here.  I specifically recommend reading about the Energy Centre, a sustainable energy power center that London is preparing for the 2012 Olympic Games which features a biomass boiler fueled by wood chips as one of many efforts to reduce carbon emissions (Source:  London2012.com).  (Photo Credit:  http://www.london2012.com/)