An exciting sustainability milestone was reached in the world of soccer. According to a recent report by Interesting Engineering, wind and solar energy powered a Dutch soccer match.
The entire soccer game at Johan Cruijff Arena, the home stadium for the Ajax football club in the Netherlands, was powered by an 8.6-megawatt-hour battery pack using sustainable energy. What makes this particular battery storage system unique is its use of secondhand batteries instead of new ones.
Back in 2018, the stadium installed the three-megawatt battery system to transition toward sustainable energy, and it was the first to use secondhand batteries for a commercial application.
Throughout the entire game, the stadium lights, elevators, beer taps, and the lighting in the players' tunnels were all powered by clean energy. The arena has 4,200 solar panels on the roof and uses LED lighting for its stadium to reduce energy demand.
Johan Cruijff Arena's mission to implement clean energy expands past soccer games, as the stadium has plans to utilize renewable energy for a variety of events.
"As the largest stadium in the Netherlands and host to many concerts and events, the Arena wants to make a statement about climate change and lead the way in acting against it," wrote Interesting Engineering.
Massive stadiums like the Johan Cruijff Arena use a significant amount of energy to host large events. By transitioning to clean energy sources, such as solar and wind energy, stadiums can reduce energy costs while also decreasing the amount of harmful, planet-warming pollutants that end up in the atmosphere.
"We are incredibly proud that, together with our partners, we can take this big step in making football matches more sustainable. Our ambition is to realize Net Positive events by 2030," CEO of Johan Cruijff Arena Tanja Dik told Interesting Engineering.
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