Biggest sun-powered stadium complete in Taiwan
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Taiwan has completed the world’s biggest solar-powered sports stadium, which can generate all its own electricity and more besides.
Designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito and with a roof covered in 8,444 solar panels, the horseshoe-shaped structure was built in Kaohsiung for the World Games in July this year.
According to a report in The Guardian newspaper, the 14,155-square-metre roof will provide enough energy to power the 50,000 seat arena’s 3,300 lights and two jumbo vision screens. Officials ran a test in January and found that it took just six minutes to power up the stadium’s entire lighting system. And when the stadium is not in use, the solar panels will create a huge surplus of power which the government plans to feed into the local grid, where it will meet almost 80 per cent of the neighboring area’s energy requirements. Overall, the stadium will generate an estimated 1.14 million KWh per year, preventing the release of 660 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually.
The stadium also includes other green features, such as permeable paving and reusable Taiwanese-made materials. Nearly seven of its 19 hectares have been reserved for parks, bike paths, sports parks, and an ecological pond.
The green stadium solar project development is a joint venture of Taiwanese company Lucky Power Technology and 3S Swiss Solar Systems AG.
Its completion was marked on Wednesday May 20, with a concert by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Chorus. Four soloists from four different countries – Colombian tenor Cesar Gutierrez, American bass-baritone Gregg Baker, German soprano Susanne Bernhard, and Taiwanese mezzo-soprano Jo-pei Weng – performed with the PSO and Vienna chorus.
SOURCE: iCON - the international magazine of the Chartered Institute of Building. www.iconreview.org
