The Philadelphia Eagles are setting their sights on another prize other than Super Bowl XLV trophy this year with their commitment to power Lincoln Financial Field with wind, solar and dual-fuel generated electricity. The team claims that this will be the world’s first major sports stadium to convert to self-generated renewable energy.
Establishing a partnership with SolarBlue, the Eagles will install 80 20-foot spiral shaped wind turbines on the rim of its stadium, 2,500 solar panels on the stadiums exterior and build a 7.6MW onsite dual-fuel cogeneration plant including a monitoring and switching technology for the operation of the system.
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SolarBlue estimates that the year-long design and build of the facility will cost upwards of US$30 million and has a tentative completion date set for September 2011; just in time for the beginning of the 2011 – 2012 NFL season. SolarBlue will maintain and operate the stadium’s power system for 20 years with a fixed percent annual price increase in electricity.
Over the next 20 years, the Eagles and SolarBlue look forward to the system producing 1.039 billion kWh of electricity with the potential to sell back 4MW of surplus energy off-peak to the local grid.
“The Philadelphia Eagles are proud to take this vital step towards energy independence from fossil fuels by powering Lincoln Financial Field with wind, solar and dual-fuel energy sources,” said team owner and chief executive officer, Jeffrey Lurie. “This commitment builds upon our comprehensive environmental sustainability program, which includes energy and water conservation, waste reduction, recycling, composting, toxic chemical avoidance and reforestation. It underscores our strong belief that environmentally sensitive policies are consistent with sound business practices.”
