London’s City Hall will install photovoltaic solar panels that will provide 70kW of renewable energy, generating 3.1million kWh of renewable electricity over their lifetime. The panels will reduce the CO2 emissions of City Hall by 3,000 tons in its lifetime.
London's City Hall already incorporates a number of sustainable features including the building shape itself to reduce solar gains. The building is naturally ventilated, with windows in all office spaces that can be opened, whilst heat generated by from computers and lights is recycled. Electrical consumption is reduced by avoiding refrigeration and uses ground water to cool air in the building. The water is extracted from the water table beneath London through two bore-holes. This is used to cool the building and then used in toilets and for irrigation savings on mains water.
The project will be funded and implemented by the London Climate Change Agency. It has also received a grant from the Department of Trade and Industry Major Photovoltaic Demonstration Programme, which is managed by the Energy Saving Trust.