Solar panels to power up London Stadium

Image: Populous

London Stadium is set to power up with solar energy as work begins on the installation of 6,500 square metres of solar membrane panels.

The £4.35 million project will enable the stadium to save more than 200 tonnes of carbon emissions a year and generate enough to power all the venue’s major events, helping make it one of the world’s greenest sports and concert venues.

The project is part of a range of measures to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions at London Stadium.

These include solar membranes, LED lighting, chiller and air handling improvements and kiosk energy-saving devices, backed up by a campaign to encourage stadium staff to reduce energy consumption.

Work on the roof design of the stadium to incorporate the new array of panels has been undertaken by Populous, the architect responsible for both the original stadium design in 2012 and its redevelopment in 2016.

Graham Gilmore, Chief Executive of LS185, said: “We are committed to becoming one of the most sustainable live event venues in the world. This investment means that we can drive down our carbon footprint and become the venue of choice for artists and event owners who are serious about sustainability.

“This ambitious large-scale investment will reduce our energy costs, but most importantly our carbon footprint. We are proud to take the lead in tackling climate change, and especially pleased to be able to power concerts and other event days from energy generated on-site.”

These current measures will reduce the stadium energy use by 1.9 million kWh by March 2025, and at that point the roof solar savings will drive a further reduction of at least 0.8 million kWh, and a further saving of between 10% -15% on electricity costs.

In total, between 2022 and 2026 the stadium will reduce energy drawn from the national grid by 3 million kWh – from 11.5million kWh per annum to 8.5 million.

The annual 850,000-kWh generated by the solar panels is equivalent to the power used for the major events each year (approximately 20 football matches, four concerts, two MLB games and one international athletics meet).

The solar energy will save more than 200 tonnes of carbon emissions a year, equivalent to 100 flights from London to New York City.

The LLDC Solar Membrane Project was the first to receive funding from the £500m Mayor of London’s Green Finance Fund, which offers flexible, low-cost financing to help public sector bodies decarbonise and accelerate London’s transition to Net Zero.

Mete Coban, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy said, “These solar panels are a game changer for the London Stadium, turning it into one of the world’s greenest sports and concert venues and hugely reducing its energy use and running costs.

“The Mayor’s Green Finance Fund offers exciting opportunities to help public sector bodies lower their carbon footprint and become more sustainable, and I encourage organisations to get involved as the next round of funding opens and we continue to build a greener, fairer London for everyone.”

Ameresco, a leading energy service business specialising in cleantech and renewable energy infrastructure, won the contract to install, operate and maintain the solar membrane panels.

The former Olympic venue required a bespoke system using light-weight thin film photovoltaic (PV) panels to minimise the roof weight loading, maximise energy generation and ensure compliance with fire regulations.

The installation will be completed by summer 2025 and start generating electricity immediately.

The next round of the Mayor’s Green Finance Fund will open for expressions of interest on 22 October.

Mark Apsey, MBE, Managing Director of UK Operations at Ameresco, said: “Contributing to London Stadium’s legacy and revolutionizing its energy infrastructure with state-of-the-art solar technology is an immense honour. The cutting-edge thin film PV solution will generate significant clean energy annually and contribute to a greener future for this iconic venue.”

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