UTILITA Bowl CEO David Mann is "proud" they are leading the way in stadium sustainability following the installation of over 1,000 solar panels at the stadium.
On Wednesday, the Utilita Bowl will turn on the newly installed solar panels for the first time, ahead of England taking on Australia in Southampton.
The solar array is the first major step in Utilita Bowl’s ambition to become the world’s greenest cricket stadium.
The switch-on marks the end of the installation process that took place throughout this summer at the venue, as part of an industry-leading partnership with Utilita Energy.
Following its completion, the solar PV array, consisting of 1,044 panels, will provide roughly a quarter of the total electricity used by the stadium, including enough to cover entire match days.
A total of 381,829kwh will be generated yearly, reducing carbon emissions by eighty tonnes and leading to major savings in electricity costs for the venue.
Earlier in the summer, six EV chargers were installed at the Hilton Southampton – Utilita Bowl, to encourage travellers with electric vehicles to attend the venue.
The switch-on ceremony will take place before England’s IT20 test against Australia at Utilita Bowl, with two exciting academy cricket prospects involved in the official.
Ahead of the event, Mann told the Daily Echo: "We're really looking forward to it and we're really proud of what we're doing here.
"It's part of our journey to become the world's greenest Test Match venue. That's an aspiration we've had for a while now.
"We've installed 1,044 panels which will provide around 25% of the energy for the stadium in a year, that's a really big number, make a massive dent in our carbon footprint.
"So we're really proud of that. I'm really looking forward to the big switch on tomorrow ahead of England and Australia.
"It's unique. We're the only cricket stadium in the UK and I think we're the only sports stadium with this many panels.
"This wouldn't have been possible without Utilita. They've helped us to fund this. We want to be sustainable.
"A lot of people are saying they're sustainable, setting net zero targets and things like that. I prefer to actually do stuff and let's see the impact of that.
"We're taking concrete steps and it's really satisfying to see that we're actually inspiring others as well.
"We've had a lot of people contact us since we started this project. A lot of stadiums and venues have asked how they can do this as well.
"Knowing that we're having an impact that's positive financially but also environmentally is something we're really proud of."
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