A new contract to create a ‘green beacon’ for London has been put to tender; involving the development a new wind turbine on the Olympic Park site.

The turbine, to be located at Eton Manor in the north of the Olympic Park, will play a key role in delivering renewable energy to the park.

The contract put out by the Olympic Development Authority (ODA) to design, construct and operate a 130 m high turbine structure (an 83m turbine with 47m high blades).

The proposed turbine will produce around 4 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per annum - the energy equivalent to supplying 1,000 homes over an average year.

ODA Director of Infrastructure Simon Wright said:

'Sustainability runs through all we are doing and the use of renewable energy is key part of our plans to provide a whole new backbone of services, fuelling not just six weeks of world class sporting action, but also the lasting regeneration of the area for many years to come.

'As one of the first large scale wind turbines so close to Central London, this contract is chance for companies to deliver a ‘green beacon’ for the Capital and a striking symbol of the sustainability principles behind the Games,' he concluded.

The green project is expected to start later this year and fully operational by 2010; two years before the Games commence.

The turbine will stay on the site after the Games and will be linked into local networks providing power to the legacy development including local amenities and housing, over its lifespan of 20 years.