Solar Stadium in Taiwan

Could we help power cities by using public building structures to produce electricity? They are doing it in Taiwan. The dragon-shaped stadium utilizes an array of nearly 9,000 solar panels to generate electricity for lighting. The power comes through the use of photovoltaic technology, which converts the solar input into 3,300 lux energy. The structure was designed by the firm of Toyo Ito and seats 50,000 people.

 When not powering the stadium lights, the power is funneled into the local power grid and is expected to meet almost 80% of the neighboring area’s energy requirements. It is estimated that this stadium will prevent 660 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year from being released into the atmosphere when compared to a traditional powered stadium of this size.

The stadium site boasts many other green features including permeable paving, green spaces, and the extensive use of reusable, domestically made materials. They even went so far as to transplant all of the vegetation that was on the site before the construction.

 Kaohsiung City, Taiwan  where the stadium is located has an average of 2,282 hours of sun per year, averaging 5.6 hours daily. If the solar energy plates receive enough sunlight, they will be able to provide 80% of the electricity needs during the operation of the stadium and 100% during the remaining time. While maybe not practical in certain areas of the United States. In some areas saturated with sunlight we could save money and the environment at the same time.