Philadelphia Eagles Look for Savings With Green Stadium

PHILADELPHIA — Renewable energy firm Solar Blue has contracted with the Philadelphia Eagles football team to transform their 70,000-seat stadium into one that generates its own electricity from renewable energy sources, the team announced late last week.

 

Solar Blue, which is based in Orlando, Fla., will fit the Lincoln Financial Field with 2,500 solar panels, 80 20-foot wind turbines and an alternative-fuels power plant that is estimated will save the team $60 million in electricity costs over 20 years.

 

The 20-year contract is worth $30 million. Solar Blue is footing the bill.

 

The turbines and panels will produce 30 percent of the stadium’s electricity and a plant running on biofuels or natural gas will generate the rest. Together, the hardware will produce 8.6 megawatts of electricity, more than the stadium currently generates on game days. Excess electricity will be sold to a local utility.

 

The energy generated by the revamped stadium will be enough to power 26,000 homes and the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will be equivalent to taking 41,000 cars off the road.

 

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell is predicting that other NFL teams will follow suit and adopt renewable energy plans for their own fields.