What has been touted as the largest solar power system in North Queensland was officially opened today at Townsville RSL Stadium.
Mark Dreyfus, federal Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency made a rooftop visit to inspect the $2 million solar farm; which consists of 1800 solar panels providing two-thirds of the stadium’s energy requirements.
“This massive solar system generates around 1400 kilowatt hours a day – that’s equivalent to the daily energy requirements of 75 homes,” Mr Dreyfus said.
“The clean energy produced here equates to cutting 460 tonnes of carbon pollution each year or taking approximately 100 cars off the road,” said Jan McLucas, Senator for Queensland.
The stadium project is part of the Townsville Solar City Program funded by the Federal Government, which has helped install more than 1 megawatt of solar PV in Townsville, cutting carbon pollution by 64,000 tonnes.
A press release from Mr. Dreyfus’ office states developing renewable energy is a central element of the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Future Plan, with carbon price revenue now being invested to support the industry.
Townsville RSL Stadium is a multi-purpose air- conditioned sports arena located in the Murray Sports Precinct. The stadium was part of the Murray Sports Complex Redevelopment.
Solar stadiums are becoming commonplace; in an effort to not only reduce associated carbon impact, but the substantial costs involved with powering these facilities. Some of the solar stadiums we’ve reported on in the past include the Gillette Stadium in the USA, the Pituaçu Stadium in Brazil and the main stadium constructed for the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Closer to home, we’ve seen the Queensland’s Carrara Stadium (now known as Metricon Stadium) go solar and the Bankstown Basketball Stadium project – an installation performed by Energy Matters’ commercial solar power arm.
