Case Study: Here comes the rain - August 2007  

Sport and Technology takes a look at how General Electric (GE), a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games, is providing multiple technologies for China’s first rainwater recycling system which will be located at the Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest; pictured right). The iconic venue will stage the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The Beijing National Stadium’s new nanofiltration membrane rainwater recycling system will use underground pools that process up to 100 tons of rainwater per hour, 80 tons of which can be reused for landscaping, fire-fighting and cleaning — a direct way to lower the stadium’s water consumption. GE’s technology is chemical-free and meets stringent environmental standards for indoor air quality and noise control.
“These advanced water treatment technologies are part of a larger effort to help Beijing implement an environmentally sustainable water management solution during the Games and beyond,” said Steve Bertamini, chairman and CEO of GE in Northeast Asia and China. “GE has been active in China for more than 100 years and we are extremely proud to continue supporting both the Games and China in its effort to adopt solutions that are more green.”
GE is also supplying its Zeeweed ultrafiltration technology for safe drinking water at the National Stadium. The technology will be used during the Beijing Games to provide up to 16 tons of purified water per hour.

Waste not, want not

Outside of Beijing’s city centre, GE is providing filtering technology for Qinghe Waste water Plant in order to improve Beijing’s wastewater treatment capabilities. The wastewater plant in Qinghe has adopted technology that will filter more than 80,000 cubic meters of wastewater daily to be recycled to maintain landscaping during the Olympic Games. This system is designed to reduce costs and cut energy consumption by up to 30% over the next five years.
“As global water scarcity increases and water quality decreases, GE’s broad portfolio of water and process solutions is helping China continue to grow in an environmentally-sustainable way,” said Jeff Garwood, president and CEO, GE Water and Process Technologies. “At GE, we share China’s commitment to preserving and protecting our water sources at the Games and we look forward to continue working in-concert with China to conserve and protect one of the world’s most precious natural resources.”
To date, GE is involved in more than 335 projects overall related to the Beijing Games in the transportation, security, energy, water, healthcare and lighting sectors. GE is working closely with organisers of the Games to provide industry-leading energy and water treatment technology that is being developed as part of ecomagination, a company-wide initiative to develop and market technologies that help customers address pressing environmental challenges.

Highlights of other key GE projects for the Beijing Games include:

(1) Helping to power conference and hotel area – Two high-efficiency GE Jenbacher Tri-generation energy units, which operate on natural gases, will be used at the Jing Hui Garden Hotel, a 14-story hotel and conference centre that will host media during the Games. Harnessing methane to produce energy is an excellent way of handling emissions of a gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
(2) Delivering energy-efficient turbines at the Olympic Central Area – GE is supplying energy-efficient turbines to deliver power, heating and cooling to the Olympic Central Area. These systems successfully convert fuels such as natural gases into a cleaner burning energy source. The process reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter by more than 60%, reduces mercury emissions by more than 50%, and reduces sulfur dioxides by more than 90%, while using less water than traditional pulverised coal plants.
(3) Implementing solar-powered lighting at Fengtai Softball Field – GE’s solar-powered LED street lighting fixtures and field lighting are being used at the Fengtai Softball Field.

GE is actively applying resources, business expertise, and technology to create solutions to help make the Olympic Games' environmental legacy a positive one. In China, GE works with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to drive environmentally sound technologies throughout the country, including cleaner coal power generation, renewable energy, water reuse and desalination, high efficiency and low emission aircraft engines and locomotives, energy efficient lighting and power distribution.  GE has already invested about $500m in its China Technology Centre - one of four such R&D centres globally - for eco-related research and is training as many as 2,500 managers during the next five years. Thanks to GE and its technologies, the future for the Olympic Games is bright. And most certainly green.

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