Nov 25 2010
The Philadelphia Eagles have declared a plan to supply power to the Lincoln Financial Field with a mix of Solar, dual-fuel generated electricity and wind energy. This initiative would mark the stadium, as the first major sports stadium in the world to use self-generated clean energy.
The Eagles have signed up SolarBlue, a renewable energy company based in Orlando for installation of 80 wind turbines with dimensions of 20 foot each. The façade of the stadium especially the top rim would be fitted with 2500 solar panels. SolarBlue would also construct a 7.6 MW dual-fuel cogeneration unit on the site, and fit it with refined switching and monitoring technological systems for the operation of the system. In the near future, SolarBlue will plough in over $30 million for building the system with a completion target set for September 2011. It would also be the caretaker, both maintaining and operating the system, for a period of 20 years, at a preset annual price increase percentage in electricity, leading to approximately $60 million savings in energy costs for the Eagles. Both SolarBlue and the Eagles anticipate that around 1.039 billion KW hours of electricity would be generated over the 20 year period by the system, with an excess energy of 4 MW, which are to be sold to the domestic electric grid, after satisfying the stadium’s energy requirements.
PhiladelphiaEagles-Stadium
According to Jeffrie Lurie, CEO and team owner of Philadelphia Eagles, they were proud to facilitate the stadium’s energy independence from fossil fuels while at the same time reinforcing their commitment to an environmental sustainability program, which comprises of recycling, waste reduction, water and energy conservation, composting, reforestation and toxic chemical evasion.
Christina Lurie, Eagles owner, commented that professional sports with their universal appeal can play a major role in creating a greener and fossil fuel free environment for the people in the world. The team’s Go Green Campaign with a Declaration of Energy Independence was also kept on display for special guests to join in. SolarBlue engineers have calculated that the Lincoln Financial Field’s greening would reduce CO2 emissions equal to 24 million gallons of gasoline or 500,000 tons of oil barrels.
According to Lee Mather, SolarBlue’s CEO and Chairman, highly sophisticated wind turbines and solar panels would be employed for generating clean renewable energy. This venture would also help in the creation of hundreds of jobs for the people in Philadelphia. Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia applauded the Eagles for their forward thinking and commitment towards the green movement. Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner remarked that the NFL would be honored to assist the Eagles in this endeavor.