Brazil not only were champions on the field winning its third straight FIFA Confederations (serving as a test event for the 2014 FIFA World Cup), but solar energy was a big winner, too.
FIFA Confederations Cup Ball via WikiCommons
In May, the $16 million 1.4 MW solar rooftop plant on Mineiro Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, opened up in time for the two-week June tournament.
Brazil has solar radiation resources about double those of Germany, yet it has very little solar power installed relative to Germany and many other countries. However, that has started to change… pretty fast.
The energy produced from 1.4MW array on the Mineiro Stadium rooftop can give 900 households with solar energy. The energy from the rootop panels will go back into the grid (not directly power the stadium).
Home to Brazilian Serie A team Cruzeiro, Mineiro Stadium hosted two group stage games involving Tahiti against Nigeria and Mexico versus Japan in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, plus the semi-final between Brazil against Uruguay.
Meanwhile, there are also plans to put solar panels on top of the neighboring Mineirinho Arena, which will push the two venues’ solar energy generation to 2.5MW.
Besides Mineiro Stadium, various other stadiums are planning to go solar in time for the 2014 FIFA World Cup next June. Rio De Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium will have 1,500 solar rooftop panels, while Pernambuco Stadium in Recife will have solar heating for the stadium changing rooms, toilets, and kitchens.
Now, can Russia, which is hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup, match Brazil toe to toe in terms of its solar plans for the 2018 tournament?
I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
