Sky to develop ‘green’ broadcasting facility

UK pay-TV operator BSkyB is developing what it is claiming will be Europe’s “most sustainable broadcasting facility”.

Sky is investing approximately £233m (€260m) over four years on the construction and technical fit out of the facility, which is set to enter service in 2011 at its London headquarters. The building will provide 23,000 square metres of space for TV studios, offices, post production and technical facilities. It will house Sky Sports and Sky’s entertainment channels.

The facility will incorporate natural ventilation systems to expel the waste heat from studio lights through a series of chimneys on the exterior of the building, simultaneously drawing in fresh air below the studios to cool the studios and other spaces, which Sky said would reduce the building’s overall energy usage by 7.5%. Wind turbines will provide 90% of the energy required for office lighting and onsite renewable energy will be generated via a biomass-fuelled combined cooling, heating and power plant, reducing the building’s carbon footprint by at least 20%, according to Sky. Rainwater will be used to irrigate green spaces and to flush all toilets in the building.