All 35 competition venues will have electricity consumption patterns monitored, analyzed and modeled to optimize the sustainability of all future Games

In this year’s Paris Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a case study in good use of data-driven solution to optimize electricity consumption at the competition venues.

By migrating power consumption and “demand intelligence” of the 35 competition venues to a cloud-based platform for the first time, the IOC aims to enable more accurate energy consumption analyses and guide eco-sustainability planning for future Olympic Games.

Said the IOC’s Chief Information and Technology Officer, llario Corna: “Sustainability is one of the three pillars of the Olympic Agenda 2020+5, alongside credibility and youth. Electricity consumption is a large contributor to the Olympic Games’ carbon emissions… we can now forecast our energy-related impact well into the future and accurately measure our progress.”

The data-driven platform, provided by Alibaba Cloud, offers the following capabilities to the IOC:

  • Consolidate all energy-related data during the Olympics and Paralympics – such as electricity consumption, power demand contingency, venue capacity, competition-related information and onsite weather conditions – into a single dashboard for a user-friendly experience
  • Utilize deep-learning AI models to provide more accurate analyses to produce venue-specific forecasts and recommendations such as power demand optimization
  • Usage of 100 smart electric meters to gathering real-time electricity consumption data from a selection of competition venues, taking into account temperature conditions and occupancy rates at different times of the day
  • Access to electricity consumption data from previous Olympic Games (2012, 2018 and 2020) will be available for analysis
  • Access to a solution that has been successfully trialed previously, to measure and analyze carbon emissions from temporary constructions built to host the Olympic Esports Week, that generated data-driven insights on the choice of materials and equipment used. A series of metrics — including the impact of energy consumption; waste management; signage and decorations — were assessed to enable the comparison of event-organization materials and equipment for sustainability impact level

According to Alibaba Cloud’s Vice President and General Manager (Cloud Intelligence/International Industry Solutions), William Xiong, the platform will “prove its value in the most high-profile and challenging arena of all — the fast-paced and highly competitive world of international sports. The insights… will form part of the solution to assist the IOC and future Games to be more sustainable.”