The Croke Park Story

The Croke Park Team

Environmental Management Group

Energy Monitoring & Control - Initiatives

An energy audit was carried out in June 2008 which identified approximately 60 possible options for energy savings. These options varied from the installation of renewable energy technologies to adjusting settings on plant and machinery within the Stadium to ensure efficient operation.

 

Two of the main recommendations were to establish energy monitoring and to improve the overall control of energy usage. A decision was taken to focus in two main energy saving projects for 2008/2009, the installation of an Energy Monitoring System and a Building Management System. Considering the vastness of the Stadium both of these projects have a certain degree of complexity and required significant capital investment by Stadium Management. The savings in energy usage is predicted to pay for the capital investment in 3 to 4 years.

 

Energy Monitoring System

 

This project was approached in two phases. Phase one was completed and commissioned in Dec 2008. This involved rewiring of electrical circuits, installation of meters and installation of energy monitoring software. The Operations Team in the Stadium now have continuous access to the realtime electricity consumption within the Stadium.

 

The energy monitoring system put in place at the stadium has resulted in it reducing its energy consumption by 30%. The stadium is also sourcing its electricity from a renewable wind farm source.

 

Environmental Management System

The introduction of an Environmental Management system ensured that in 2009 Croke Park reduced its electricity usage by 18% and gas usage by 35%. This reduction was made possible by the installation of a Stadium–wide building management system (BMS). The BMS is designed to maximise energy efficiency. This is a computerised system for centrally managing and operating energy using systems within the Stadium. The day to day electricity consumption was reduced by using the BMS to control the lighting, electrical heating and air handling units according to the scheduled activities taking place within the Stadium. Passive Infrared (PIR) lights were also introduced in some of the areas that are used on a daily basis. These lights detect motion and then activate a switch to turn on when required and off when no motion is detected after 15 minutes.

 

Building Management System

The Building Management System will assist Stadium Management in controlling energy usage throughout the Stadium. The Croke Park BMS mainly targets lighting and space heating, including both electrical and gas heating. Major works have been undertaken on plant and machinery and electrical systems to enable BMS control.

 

Renewable & Alternative Energy - Initiatives

Investigations were undertaken into a variety of renewable and alternative energy possibilities for Croke Park. Some of these are outlined below.

 

Solar Energy

We assessed the possibilities of both solar thermal and solar photovoltaic energy. Both of these options have been ruled out due to unacceptably long payback periods. In both cases the equipment would require replacement before it had paid for the capital investment involved in the projects.

 

The Cúl Green Team will monitor developments in solar technology and revisit the possibilities of solar energy being used in the future.

 

Wind Energy

Wind Monitoring

Monitoring of wind speed and direction began in November 2008. Four monitoring masts were positioned at the four corners of the Stadium. These masts will remain in place to gather 1 year of wind speed and direction data. Initial analysis suggests low wind speeds.

 

Wind Generation Technology

The investigations into wind energy generation at Croke Park considered three main possibilities as detailed below:

 

Large scale wind turbine

Hub height: 40m – 50m hub height

Rotor blades diameter: 33.5m

Power output: 330kW

 

Decision: Ruled out due to insufficient wind speeds, proximity to residential dwellings and excessively high capital costs.

 

Small scale wind turbine

Hub height: 18m hub height

Rotor blades diameter: 3m

Power output: 20kW

 

Decision: Ruled out due to insufficient wind speeds and long payback period.

 

Micro wind turbine

Hub height: up to 9m hub height

Rotor blades diameter: 3m

Power output: 4 to 10kW

 

Decision: Still under consideration.

 

Geothermal Energy

 

The Cúl Green Initiative sponsored an undergraduate study to be carried out by University College Dublin, UCD. This study which is being carried out by Michael Leonard, a final year student of Mechanical Engineering at UCD, is due for completion in April 2009 and will be reviewed by The Cúl Green Team to determine any further actions that should be considered regarding geothermal possibilities.

 

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

 

The option of using a CHP engine to create electricity and heat from gas is being considered. CHP is a well established technology and can be very effective when used in suitable situations. We are awaiting the implementation of the BMS prior to making a final decision on using CHP within Croke Park as the BMS will assist in determining what the true heat demand is for the Stadium.

 

Biomass Boilers

 

Burning biomass in place of natural gas for heating purposes was considered. This was ruled out due to the high capital and installation costs and the lack of space available within the Stadium service level for storage of biomass fuel.

 

Waste - Initiatives

Waste Management

Croke Park diverts 54% of the waste generated on site from landfill. The weight of this material would equate to the equivalent of 2,045,739 sliotars. Facilities on-site include cardboard baling and composting of all food and grass. Recycling stations are placed on all floors in the Stadium and all staff and contractors received training. Patrons are also encouraged on event days to contribute to our waste management procedures.

 

Waste management processes continue to deliver, as evidenced by receipt of the Repak Partnership award given to a business or organisation that has achieved outstanding results in the areas of recycling and waste management.

 

ISO 14001 - Initiatives

The International Standards Organisation, ISO, is made up of representatives from 159 countries and publishes best practice standards for industry and organisations throughout the world.

 

The ISO has published over 17,500 Standards on various technical and management issues, one of which is ISO14001, the Standard for Environmental Management. This Standard details the steps required for effective management of environmental issues and the continual improvement of environmental performance.

 

There are more than 750 Accredited Certification Bodies operating around the world who are authorised to assess the management systems in companies and issue a certificate to confirm that the company is managing environmental concerns according to the ISO14001 Standard.

 

Certification Audit

A pre-certification audit for ISO14001 was undertaken by the external certification body, SGS Ireland, on 7th April 2009. The external auditors have recommended that the Stadium is well prepared to undergo the full certification audit and this is being scheduled for mid May 2009.

 

ISO Certification Achieved

Croke Park achieved a major milestone in the Cúl Green Initiative on May 14th by gaining ISO14001 certification for the Environmental Management System (EMS) at the Stadium. The certification was granted following an independent external EMS audit by SGS Ireland Ltd.

 

The Environmental Management System includes a cyclical process within which Croke Park sets annual objectives and targets related to energy efficiency, waste management, water conservation and other environmentally significant aspects of the operations at the Stadium. The first cycle of the EMS included the successful installation of the energy monitoring system and several objectives and targets related to waste management. The current objectives and targets include the installation of the building management system, further waste management related targets and the installation of water conservation equipment. The EMS will assist Croke Park in achieving continual improvement in environmental management and performance

 

Water - Initiatives

Water Management

In 2007 meters were installed on the water tanks in the Stadium, these meters were added to the Energy Monitoring System to enable real time monitoring of water consumption. Based on this knowledge of the patterns of consumption the Cúl Green team put in place solenoid valves on urinals in public levels in 2009. This water saving enhancement allowed the stadium to save 312,000 litres of water per day. The saving made from the introduction of these valves equates to approximately 166 swimming pools (25m).