Can you imagine the amount of electricity that would be used at the likes of a sports stadium especially if an event is taking place as darkness falls? The cost of powering those floodlights would be substantial.
Bordeaux is renowned for its wine but is shortly to have a sports stadium powered by solar panels
(image credit: e_calamar)
You will no doubt be interested to hear of a construction project that is underway in France. A sports stadium is being built in the southwest part of Bordeaux by the Garonne River in what is known as the Bordeaux Lac region. It is to be called the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux and will have a capacity of around 42,000 spectators.
The interesting thing with this stadium is that a great deal of the electricity supply will be generated by using solar panels. This is a huge renewable energy project believed to be the first of its kind of this magnitude in a European sports stadium.
The car park for the new stadium will house a vast solar photovoltaic array of panels that will provide two benefits. Firstly, they will provide shelter for cars when people attend events at the stadium and, secondly, they will provide power for the stadium. It will probably come as no surprise to also read that the stadium is expected to look spectacular as far as the structure’s design is concerned.
Herzog & de Meuron is the Swiss firm involved in its design and they were involved in the design of Beijing’s “bird’s nest” National Stadium used in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
It is expected that the stadium will be completed in 2015 and will play host to a European Championship football game in 2016.
Around the world, the Kaohsiung National Stadium located in Taiwan was the first sports complex to generate all of its electricity using solar power. It was constructed for the World Games in 2009 and can hold up to 55,000 spectators. There are 8,844 solar panels that are capable of powering two large TVs and 3.300 lights.
