Powering a Sporting Nation

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.

Research shows the potential for the rooftops of sporting venues to mitigate the impacts of climate change

Recently 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.

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.

Commenting on the findings, ACF Campaigns Director, Paul Sinclair stated “from the biggest stadium to the smallest clubrooms, Australian sports can work together to become powered by 100% clean energy.

“To become pollution free in the next decade, Australians need to work together and get on with the job of making our country a clean energy superpower.

“That includes making Australia’s stadiums and clubrooms renewable-powered and energy efficient.

“The solutions to do this are available right here, right now. Moving to clean energy creates jobs, cuts energy costs and gives Australian rivers, forests and wildlife a chance to thrive.”

Citing ‘The Climate Council’s Game, Set, Match: Calling Time on Climate Inaction’, featured earlier this year in Australasian Leisure Management issue 143, Sinclair added “sports in Australia face a growing threat from climate change. Driven mainly by burning fossil fuels like coal and gas, global warming is drying out sports grounds, disrupting events and increasing health risks for players.

“The costs of missing the opportunities before us are huge. More catastrophic bushfires and weather events will destroy homes of people and wildlife.

“Extreme and deadly heatwaves will threaten the lives of Australians, including sportspeople and fans at elite and community levels (but) we believe Australian sports can be

Metricon Stadium’s ‘solar halo’ The redevelopment of Metricon Stadium (Carrara Stadium) in 2011 saw the installation of what was then Australia’s largest Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) project with 600 custom made solar panels from Netherlands-based Scheuten Solar integrated into the roof of the structure.

The appropriately named Gold Coast Suns have benefitted from this ‘solar halo’ with 200kW capacity.

La Trobe Sports Stadium With a goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2029, La Trobe University in Melbourne has included 1,104 solar panels on the roof of its recently completed La Trobe Sports Stadium. The new stadium was completed earlier this year as part of Stage 2 of the University’s Sports Park development, with a 519kW solar array atop the venue capable of generating approximately 724,000kWh of solar energy annually, more than enough to meet the entire stadium’s electrical demands, with the surplus going to supplement the main campus. powered by 100% clean energy by 2030.”

The work follows an earlier UNSW study from 2017 that suggested the installation of solar panels on major Brisbane venues including Suncorp Stadium and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre could generate electricity for 1,200 homes and save 5414 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission a year.

At the time, SPREE’s Dr Anna Bruce explained how small to larger businesses were now examining cost savings from “localised” solar generating systems on their business rooftops.

Dr Bruce explained “one of the benefits - longer term - will be that by generating more electricity locally, we will not need as much capacity in our transmission and distribution network, our electricity grid.”

While stadium managers may often seem more concerned with operating ‘experience’ attractions on their roofs than solar installations, facilities in other sectors have led the way in commercial solar including Perth’s Cockburn ARC, the Sydney Theatre Company, the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, Sydney Town Hall and numerous other aquatic and recreation facilities are making the most of rooftop solar installations.

As Colin Mauger, founder and Director of aquatic and recreation facility solar energy company Supreme Heating, advises “the entire industry has a responsibility to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and harness the power of the sun.”

According to La Trobe, the venue has been awarded Australia’s first ‘6 Star Green Star Design and As Built v1.2 certified rating’ for a sports building by the Green Building Council Australia.

Tweed Shire Council Tweed Shire Council has committed to a new two-year program of renewable energy and energy efficiency works across its facilities aiming to achieve net zero emissions from electricity usage by 2030.

There are already solar arrays installed at more than 20 Council facilities, including Tweed Regional Aquatic Centre in Murwillumbah, saving 1185 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually - the equivalent of 66 average households.

Logan North Aquatic Centre The recent installation of a 100kW system on the roof of the Logan North Aquatic Centre in Underwood features 303 solar panels.

This installation has contributed to Logan City Council having passed a significant renewable energy milestone with more than 1000kW of solar photovoltaic panels now installed on Council-owned buildings.

The MCG Having signed on to the United Nations Sports for Climate Change Action framework in 2019, MCG operator the Melbourne Cricket Club last year installed new solar panels on parts of the northern roof.

A review found the Great Southern Stand roof would not have been able to handle the added weight of the solar panels but EnergyAustralia discovered that certain sections of the northern stand would work, not only easing weight fears but ensuring there would be enough generation capacity to make the project feasible.

The venue’s operations team can track energy usage in real time, meaning it will be able to check on what is being generated by the solar panels, thereby managing the load during peak times.