Doncaster Rovers has become the first football league club to install solar panels on its stadium, following the completion of a 50kWp solar array at the Keepmoat Stadium.
Local solar installers, Eclipse Solar, oversaw the project, installing 200 Romag solar modules on the stadium’s roof. The array is predicted to generate around 42,290kWh of electricity in its first year of operation – saving the club approximately £3,000 in energy bill payments and generating around £6,400 in feed-in tariff payments.
The club will use the green energy generated by the solar array to run lighting and various appliances at the stadium. In addition to slashing the club’s utility bill, the new solar array will help reduce the club’s carbon footprint by negating the omission of 23 tonnes of CO2 every year.
Commenting on the club’s solar installation, Gavin Baldwin, chief executive of Doncaster Rovers said: “We have a number of green initiatives at the stadium in order to reduce our carbon footprint and we are delighted to be moving into the renewable energy market.
“The solar panels are not only beneficial to the environment, they will help to reduce our energy bills, which is fantastic. To be the first football league club in the country to install solar panels is a fantastic accolade for Rovers and indicates how innovative the club is and once again shows we are leading the way.”
Brad Hunt, managing director at Eclipse Solar added: “Solar PV represents a huge opportunity for football clubs such as Doncaster Rovers, both in terms of reducing their environmental impact and financially. In this instance the long term return on investment is expected to be almost 400% over the next 20 years.”
Phil Murray, managing director at Romag hinted that the company is currently in talks with a number of sporting venues to help them realise similar solar projects.