To achieve our vision of “creating a place that embraces our heritage, engages with our present and protects our future” we are focussing on four inter-connected sustainability priorities. The environment is also a key consideration for the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, and our focus is guardianship of the unique heritage of the site, effective resource management and the responsible and innovative provision and use of energy. Our site is also home to some remarkable species of birds.

SUSTAINABILITY

Jobs & Education: offering opportunities for young people to learn about jobs at Battersea Power Station, creating thousands of jobs and delivering training programmes to ensure that local people are able to benefit from these opportunities.

Economy: supporting and promoting local businesses and contributing to the growing local, national and international economy.

Environment: using resources responsibly, minimising our impact on climate change and fulfilling our role as custodians of Battersea Power Station’s heritage.

Community: engaging with people about the changes that are happening at Battersea Power Station, investing in local community groups and building a town centre with facilities that are open to everyone.

We share an annual report, Generating Opportunities, which shows the progress we are making towards achieving the aspirations of the Local Employment Agreement (LEA), supporting local people into jobs, as agreed between Battersea Power Station and the London Borough of Wandsworth.

THE ENERGY CENTRE

Battersea Power Station is once again be an operational power station, supplying energy for the estate.

The site’s Energy Centre sits ten metres beneath the new riverside park. Its construction involved the excavation of more than 150,000 cubic metres of earth, some of which was taken away using river barges, removing the need for 3,500 heavy lorry journeys on local roads.

The Energy Centre is equipped with three ten-megawatt boilers and three Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engines, each of which produces up to two megawatts of heat and a further two megawatts of electricity. All this machinery runs on gas at high efficiency, generating energy with a vapour plume. There are also six chiller units providing efficient air conditioning using non-potable water from an existing on-site borehole. Vapour is then vented through two of the newly-rebuilt chimneys of the Power Station.

Another important feature of the Energy Centre is its large thermal storage system allowing energy to be generated and stored at quiet times for use at periods of high demand, allowing the machinery to be used more efficiently and reducing emissions overall.

PROTECTED BIRD SPECIES

Battersea Power Station is home to two Schedule 1 species; a pair of Peregrine Falcons and Black Redstarts, both species uniquely breeding alongside each other.

Recording of a pair of peregrines at Battersea Power Station started in 2000, one of London’s first peregrine nesting sites. The most successful breeding period for the peregrines was during the main construction period. A temporary nest tower was erected on site in 2013, so that works could start where the peregrines had been nesting. Since construction started, the peregrines have successfully fledged 18 juveniles. The restoration of the Power Station also includes a new permanent nest site for the peregrines in one of the wash towers, which the falcons now use.

Black Redstarts have always been an annual breeder at the Power Station. Nests are notoriously hard to find, but fledged young are often seen or heard around the site. Foraging areas have been allocated below the Peregrine Falcon nesting tower and on the brown roofs at Circus West Village.

BROWN ROOFS

The neighbourhood has been designed to encourage bug and bird populations to use the outdoor spaces. Various bug hotels and bird boxes have been installed in the private and public outdoor areas to provide nesting opportunities and habitat. The bug hotels at Circus West Village are primarily designed for solitary bees to lay their eggs and for ladybirds to hibernate in the winter.

Over 1,000m2 of brown roofs have been created on the roofs of Circus West to provide suitable foraging habitat for the Black Redstarts, a Schedule 1 listed bird species. These brown roofs are planted with drought tolerant sedum and mosses, which provide the ideal habitat for invertebrates and ruderal plants. Pied and grey wagtails also enjoy these areas for foraging.

Across the Power Station are three rooftop gardens on top of Switch House East, Switch House West and Boiler House Square, which provide a range of spaces for ecology to flourish, as well a 29,000 sq ft rooftop garden positioned on top of Battersea Roof Gardens. The six-acre Power Station Park also provides an expanisve green space for wildlife.

COMMUNITY QUERIES

Our Community Forum meetings take place each quarter to provide neighbours and local stakeholders with the opportunity to speak directly to Battersea Power Station. Meetings take place in person.

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