Featured image credit: Rob Ridley
Mace, the international consultancy and construction company, has furthered its connection with London Stadium and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park by announcing it is providing project management support for the venue’s solar energy project.
London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), owners of London Stadium, are seeking to install an innovative ‘solar membrane’ on its roof in a move that seeks to reduce both carbon emissions and energy bills for the facility.
The contract, which comes off the back of an appointment to a LLDC framework, continues Mace’s longstanding presence at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which has been unbroken since 2006 and also sees the firm currently leading on the development of the Stratford Waterfront cultural district.
Supporting the project from the outset, Mace has worked with the stadium operator, LS185, to develop a clear and compelling business case for LLDC. This involved analysis of the environmental benefits, economic viability, return on investment and overall feasibility of the initiative.
Mace also contributed to technical guidance on design challenges, including careful consideration of the weight threshold for the Stadium’s cantilevered roof, which led to the innovative membrane solution. Mace said that together, this work ensured LLDC had the information needed to objectively assess the opportunity and approve the scheme.
Project delivery will see the installation of a 6,000-7,000-square-metre solar membrane that is essential to utilise cutting edge technology to generate more than one million kWh of renewable energy every year. That equates to 10% of the Stadium’s current electricity usage and represents a saving of up to £350,000 (€409,000/$445,000) a year in energy costs.
It emerged in February that London Stadium was conducting a feasibility study for the project. The LLDC’s latest budget document was said to project that the venture could cost around £4m over two years.
City Hall last month approved a multi-million-pound loan for the project. A supplier for the technology hasn’t yet been selected, with the Mace-supported tender process currently underway and “attracting a host of interested parties” ahead of a planned appointment in November.
Installation is scheduled for completion by next summer at the former London 2012 Olympic Games centrepiece, whose anchor tenant is now Premier League football club West Ham United.
Davendra Dabasia, COO for Mace Consult, said: “In addition to continuing our 17-year relationship with the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, this commission is especially pleasing because we’ve been able to leverage our responsible business consultancy services to help LLDC achieve its sustainability goals.
“At Mace, we recently set an ambitious target of helping our clients to save 10 million tonnes of carbon as part of our responsible business plan and this exciting project is another step in the right direction. It’s an example of consultancy work making a difference early on in a project’s lifecycle, influencing outcomes for the better.”
Ben Coulter, the LLDC’s head of sustainability, added: “This a vitally important contract so it’s important to have the right support in place from the outset. Not only will this investment drive financial savings but will also help make significant reductions to carbon dioxide emissions.”
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