Data from the Paris Olympics could help cut energy use at the next Games

Data currently being collected at all competition venues at the Paris Olympics will provide insights that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hopes can help reduce the carbon footprint of future Games. 

The IOC installed some 100 electricity smart meters across 35 competition venues at this year’s Games to track real-time data on energy consumption. The IOC will then collect and analyze these datasets via Alibaba Cloud’s sustainability platform, Energy Expert, according to Choong Hon Keat, deputy country head of Singapore for the Chinese cloud vendor.

The software is supposd to measure electricity consumption at the venues and generate data insights, which Alibaba will then use to identify ways the IOC can improve power efficiencies at future games venues, Choong said at a media briefing in Singapore.

Also: Everything is moving to the cloud. But how green is it, really?

Powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and Alibaba’s cloud infrastructure, Energy Expert is supposed to provide venue-specific consumption forecasts and recommendations, for instance, that better optimize energy requirements to minimize power wastage, according to Alibaba.

The smart meters are at various venues, including used by judges and the media, and the data collected takes into consideration environmental conditions, such as weather and surges in power consumption, Choong said. Energy consumption of various equipment used, including tech operational spaces and systems, and food and beverage equipment should also be measured and collected.

The datasets should collectively offer a more accurate indication of energy consumption at the Games, Alibaba said. It added that the IOC can consolidate all energy-related data from the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, including power demand contingency, venue capacity, and onsite weather conditions, into a single dashboard.

Data on energy consumption at previous games, including the London Olympics 2012, Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, and Tokyo Olympics 2020, will also be available for analysis via Energy Expert, Alibaba said. 

Alibaba launched Energy Expert in June 2022 and deployed it at its first sporting event in 2023 at the Olympic Esports week in Singapore, where it measured and analyzed carbon emissions from temporary constructions built on-site. The data insights were used to compare materials and equipment used at the event, Alibaba said. 

“Electricity consumption is a large contributor to the Olympic Games’ carbon emissions,” llario Corna, IOC’s chief information and technology officer, said in a statement. “The data-driven insight produced by Energy Expert will help us learn from each Games edition and apply that knowledge intelligently to make future events even more energy efficient.”

Also: How your inefficient data center hampers sustainability – and AI adoption

The IOC has committed to cut its direct and indirect carbon emissions by 30% this year and another 50% by 2030, in line with The Paris Agreement.

A third-party vendor engaged by the IOC installed the 100 smart meters at this year’s Olympic Games. Alibaba was unable to provide details on how it worked with the smart meter vendor to facilitate or optimize the data collection and analysis.

ZDNET also asked if the IOC had provided sustainability guidelines for Alibaba’s cloud data centers, which are used to support the service, as part of its third-party supplier agreement. Alibaba declined to comment. 

Also: Singapore heats up data centers with operating standards for tropical climates

The Chinese cloud vendor is also providing the backbone infrastructure for Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) at this year’s Games, which features the launch of OBS Cloud 3.0, according to Alibaba.

The platform will support several critical functions and encompasses OBS Live Cloud, which will facilitate the remote distribution to media rights-holders. It marks the first time this is delivered via cloud infrastructure rather than by satellites, which have been used since the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.

For Paris Olympics 2024, two-thirds of booked remote services encompassing 54 broadcasters are delivered via OBS Live Cloud, Alibaba said, including two Ultra High-Definition (UHD) broadcasters. The cloud platform is set to transmit 379 video feeds, including 11 UHD and 368 HD, as well as 100 audio feeds.

OBS’ content delivery platform, Content+, which is hosted on Alibaba Cloud, is expected to deliver an estimated 11,000 hours of content this year, up 15% from Tokyo 2020. This content will include live sessions, athlete interviews, and social media streams.

Alibaba added that Content+ offers features that allow media rights-holders to generate their own highlights from anywhere and push content that can be downloaded in three different resolutions, including for digital and social media consumption.