The Warriors match on Saturday against the Gold Coast Titans will be first NRL game - and major sporting event in this country - to be completely powered by the sun.
A little slice of history will be made at Go Media Stadium this evening.
When the Warriors run out for their clash with the Gold Coast Titans at 5pm, more than 60% of the energy requirements at the venue will be sourced from the mass of solar panels on bothof the main grandstands.
It will be New Zealand’s first solar-powered major sporting event, as well as the first NRL match, to run off renewable energy. It is also believed to be a new chapter in Australasia, as no stadiums across the Tasman have an equivalent set-up, with other projects typically limited to solar lighting.
“We understand that there are some venues in Australia that do have solar power as well, but we believe in terms of the scale of our installation that it’s certainly the most significant,” Go Media stadium director James Parkinson told the Herald.
A total of 1650 panels were installed across both the eastern and western grandstands in February and they are now fully operational. They have already borne fruit, with a week of sunshine in Auckland contributing to the operational needs as the club and stadium prepared for today’s triple-header, with the NSW Cup and NRLW teams also in action. But match day will be most significant, with another sellout crowd of around 25,000 expected.
“[Saturday’s games] will be the first time that we’ve got the full benefit of our new solar panels for our event,” explained Parkinson.
“It’s fully operational now. With the installation we have done, we are obviously drawing on the solar power when the sun’s shining, And when that produces more power than what we need at that point, we’re selling that power back into the grid. And then when it isn’t producing what we need, we’re obviously drawing back off the grid as well.”
The new solar installation on the western grandstand at Go Media Stadium.
The idea came from the stadium’s sustainability team and is expected to generate around 800 MWh per year, equal to 60% of the stadium’s total energy usage. It will be in play for four more regular season Warriors matches – along with possible playoff games – as well as the Auckland FC season, staged across summer and the recently announced Ed Sheeran concert on January 16.
Parkinson said the project had a price tag of around $1 million but will generate annual savings of more than $150,000, meaning the investment will be recouped in the next six to eight years.
“That is what’s been modelled but the early indications on what we’re generating suggests that it may be even quicker than that,” said Parkinson.
No other venue in New Zealand has a similar solar project. Parkinson said this initiative is part of a wider push to improve sustainability and reduce carbon emissions, citing the recent removal of antiquated gas boilers, replaced by electric heat pumps.
“While it’s significant in its own right, it is part of a broader programme of work that we are doing to improve our sustainability,” said Parkinson.
“So the solar certainly doesn’t represent the end of that journey. It’s very much just part of the journey.”
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.
