A resilient power supply is crucial to this project. "We can't go off air for more than 20 minutes in a year -if there was a nuclear or terrorist attack, this would be the key broadcasting centre for the UK," says John McGrath, buildings services director for Bovis Lend Lease.The site needs a massive 32MW of power to keep it ticking over, which meant 7km of 33,000-volt cable had to be laid, a task that took 18 months. The cable started in Old Trafford, then "went under the ship canal, along railway tracks, through a couple of housing estates and along a few roads" says Gregory. "It's been quite a job."To improve the sustainability credentials of the project, a tri-generation system has been installed under the car park. This was originally conceived as a back-up system, but will now supply the baseload heating and cooling for the residential units, the BBC and the dedicated studios.
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