Once the 6,500 square meters of solar membrane panels go up, the London Stadium will take a seat among the league of greenest sports and concert venues in the world. Regarded as part of the LLDC Solar Membrane Project, this is the first to be allocated funding from the £500 million Mayor of London’s Green Finance Fund set up to support public sector bodies in decarbonizing and fast-tracking London to achieve Net Zero. This £4.35 million project will reduce carbon emissions by more than 200 tonnes every year while it will also provide the energy needed during all major events that take place at the venue.
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.”
Reductions in Energy Costs
Reduced energy costs and resulting emissions will involve not just the solar panels, chiller, and air-handling improvements, but also the use of LED lighting and energy-saving devices at kiosks. These projects are forecasted to save 1.9 million kWh by March 2025, while savings of at least 0.8 million kWh more are projected from the solar panels, for a cumulative total of 3 million kWh less drawn from the national grid from 2022 to 2026.
This is estimated to yield approximately 850,000 kWh annually from the solar panels alone, enough to stage around 20 football matches, four concerts, two MLB games, and one international athletics meet, thereby making a sizeable contribution toward the stadium’s goal of sustainability. The installation will be led by Ameresco, the leader in cleantech and renewable energy infrastructure, and is expected to be done by summer 2025.
“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.” said Graham Gilmore, Chief Executive of LS185.
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.”
