A major stadium in London will soon be powered entirely by solar energy, thanks to the installation of a new solar panel.
The London Stadium, the former Olympic venue and current home of Premier League team West Ham United, will be equipped with a 6,500 m² solar array, capable of generating more than 850,000 kWh of electricity annually. According to project leaders, this capacity is sufficient to power all of the stadium’s major events each year, consisting of approximately twenty football games, four major concerts, two Major League Baseball games and one international athletics event.
The system that will be installed uses lightweight, thin-film photovoltaic solar cells (PV) to minimize excess weight on the roof. The installation is expected to be completed in summer 2025, with Ameresco awarded a contract for the installation, operation and maintenance of the PV system.
The project is the first to receive funding from the Mayor of London’s Green Finance Fund, a £500 million fund that provides flexible, low-cost financing to help government agencies achieve their decarbonisation targets. economy. This project received £4.35 million from the fund.
Mete Coban, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy said: “These solar panels are a game changer for the London Stadium, making it one of the greenest sports and concert venues in the world and vastly reducing energy consumption and running costs. The Mayor’s Green Finance Fund offers exciting opportunities to help government agencies reduce their carbon footprint and become more sustainable, and I encourage organizations to get involved as the next round of funding kicks off and we continue to build a greener, fairer London for everyone.”
Mark Apsey, MBE, managing director of the UK operations at Ameresco, said: “It is a huge honor to contribute to the legacy of the London Stadium and revolutionize energy infrastructure with state-of-the-art solar technology. The advanced thin-film PV solution will generate significant clean energy annually and contribute to a greener future for this iconic location.”
Decarbonizing public buildings
Across Britain, efforts to decarbonise public buildings have received a lot of attention in recent months, with many projects using solar energy.
In May, the UK government announced the latest winners of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, awarding £530 million in investment for energy efficiency improvements in public buildings.
The London boroughs of Islington and Camden received funding to decarbonise their services with solar installations, while the Greater London Authority also received £300,000 to decarbonise a Grade II listed building in Tottenham, currently in use as a community enterprise centre.
In the meantime, the next round of the Mayor’s Green Financing Fund will open for expressions of interest on October 22.
