The key to this is always keeping carbon emissions and climate change at the heart of our approach to the design of new buildings and infrastructure in the Olympic Park. What really excites me are the new standards we are setting in the construction industry:
- To date we have delivered more than 58 per cent of construction materials (by weight) to the Olympic Park by rail. 500 trains have delivered 600,000 tonnes of materials to site, saving 30,000 lorry journeys to the Park.
- We opened Three Mills Lock at Prescott Channel in June, which provides access for 350-tonne barges on the Park's waterways. This is the first time since the mid 1970s that barges have been used to transport goods this far up the canal network. Contractors are now beginning to use the waterways to bring materials to site and move waste out of the Park replacing lorry journeys, reducing emissions and saving carbon.
The opening of Three Mills Lock:
- We are planning a new wind turbine in the north of the Park, and an Energy Centre that will house a biomass boiler. The Energy Centre will use waste wood to generate heat for the London 2012 venues. Together they will help ensure that we meet the Olympic Park target to reduce carbon emissions by 20 per cent through the use of on-site renewables.
- Detailed designs for all permanent venues have been developed to be energy and water efficient. For example, the Velodrome will be 36 per cent more energy efficient than UK Building Regulation requirements and will use about 55 per cent less treated mains water than a comparable facility.
