Sydney Cricket Ground (above) shown with a potential 1,004 KW PV array, SCG (insert) as it is now, and the Powering a Sporting Nation report.
Powering a Sporting Nation Research shows the potential for the rooftops of sporting venues to mitigate the impacts of climate change
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ecently released research carried out by the University of New South Wales School’s Photovoltaic & Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE) and the Australian PV Institute (APVI), on behalf of the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), shows there is a lead role for AFL, cricket and football clubs, associations and national governing organisations to play in mitigating the impacts of climate change. The research shows that 20,000 megawatt hours of clean energy and impressive financial benefits could be generated simply by installing solar panels on the vacant roofing space of Australia’s major stadiums and administrative offices of major sporting codes. On the back of other ACF research showing temperature increases from climate change will worsen the conditions in which professional sports like cricket, Australian Open tennis and World Tour cycling races operate, this latest research offers positive solutions to one of the major issues facing Australian sport. The Powering a Sporting Nation report and related papers found that installing solar panels on stadium and facility roofing could: •Generate around 20,000 megawatt hours of energy - enough to power almost 2,900 households annually. •Prevent the release of 310,000 tonnes of carbon pollution over two decades. •Save cricket, football and AFL codes a combined total of $3.7 million per year.
50 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 145
Going solar would also bring benefits for non-elite and community sport, with the assessment of regional and community clubs across the three sports suggesting there is extensive viable roof space on club facilities that is not yet being used to create clean solar power. Among best practice examples North Melbourne Football Club is a leader in clean power generation, with its Arden Street headquarters and adjoining North Melbourne Recreation Centre powered by solar as a result of an investment by the City of Melbourne, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Kangaroos. The 800 panel, 200kW system was the biggest in the City of Melbourne when installed in 2016 and has helped reduce the club’s reliance on grid-supplied power by 22%. This installation followed Richmond Football Club’s installation of a 100kW solar system during the redevelopment of its Punt Road Oval home in 2014 - and it more recently becoming the first AFL club to join the United Nation’s Sports for Climate Action Initiative. Similar sized systems have also been installed at St Kilda FC’s RSEA Park while the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) uses its system to power its water recycling facility with excess electricity then transferred to lighting and power in other areas of the venue. In terms of solar opportunities, the report suggests that the Sydney Cricket Ground has 1004 kilowatts of clean energy potential and the Darwin headquarters of Football NT has 406 kilowatts of clean solar potential.
