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Solar power is coming to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, thanks to a partnership between China-based Yingli Solar, Light ESCO, EDF Consultoria, and the State of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil’s famed government-owned stadium, Estadio do Maracana, is getting a major overhaul in preparation for hosting the FIFA World Cup 2014 as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Games. The stadium, once the largest in the world, was built in 1950 to host that year’s World Cup.
According to Inside World Football, a 2011 poll showed that 90 percent of Brazilians wanted the World Cup to “go green”, so 1,500 solar panels are being installed on a ring around the top of the stadium. Energy company Light ESCO is the principal developer of the project and has hired EDF to install the solar system provided by Yingli Solar. But it’s not just the companies directly involved with the project that are benefitting from the stadium going solar. FIFA’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Federico Addiechi said he “hope(s) this landmark project will be the catalyst to spur other football stadiums that may install solar PV systems across Brazil” as well as encourage more renewable energy investments throughout the rest of the country.
FIFA isn’t the only sports body going green, though: professional baseball, basketball, and American football teams are adding solar panels to their stadiums as well. Recently, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals joined six other teams in adding rooftop solar arrays and the Washington Redskins have one of the largest solar installations in all of Washington, D.C. But with football (soccer) being the world’s most popular sport, a solar-powered World Cup stadium will only serve to promote the benefits of solar energy to the masses.
[via Inside World Football]