Lots of of photo voltaic panels can be put in within the stands at Cork’s Musgrave Park in what’s believed to be the largest inexperienced vitality initiative of its sort at a sports activities stadium in Eire.
Planning permission has been granted for the intensive array, which is anticipated to supply sufficient energy on sunny days to fulfill the vitality consumption necessities of your entire Musgrave Park sports activities campus.
In addition to lowering vitality consumption within the stadium, lowering vitality prices and off-setting its carbon footprint, Munster Rugby will have the ability to promote any extra electrical energy generated again into the grid via its sustainability associate , Pinergy, which buys electrical energy at 25c per kilowatt hour.
Pinergy already provides 100% renewable vitality to Munster’s Thomond Park in Limerick and Musgrave Park, and it has labored on LED retrofitting and renewable heating options at Thomond Park up to now.
However beneath the phrases of a 10-year partnership, it’s now funding the set up of a 400 kw peak photo voltaic set up on the roofs of two stands at Munster Rugby’s Cork headquarters.
The Cork Rugby Stadium Designated Exercise Firm utilized to Cork Metropolis Council earlier this 12 months for permission to put in 644 photo voltaic panels on the stadium’s roofs — 480 on the principle stand, which faces west, and 164 on reverse stance.
The stadium is 2 km west of the town heart. Its western stand is about three tales excessive, with the roof 10m excessive, and an extra 1.9m excessive to the height. The jap stand is about two tales excessive, with a roof about 6m excessive.
Paperwork within the planning file say the format of the panels is designed to maximise photo voltaic acquire.
“The set up of photovoltaic panels will acquire clear vitality from the Solar and assist scale back the consumer’s dependence on fossil fuels, thus lowering their carbon footprint,” it mentioned.
Consultants should additionally put together a particular glint and glare report back to confirm that the array of panels is not going to intrude with close by properties, or highway customers, and won’t present a harmful disruption to pilots on closing strategy or departure from Cork Airport, about 4km to the south.
In all circumstances, it’s thought of that the chance is negligible and no mitigation is taken into account obligatory.
Planners have given permission for the scheme with a variety of customary circumstances connected.
Whereas some preliminary work has already been achieved on web site, the panels themselves are anticipated to be put in early within the new 12 months.
Michael Norton, head of economic gross sales at Pinergy Photo voltaic Electrical, mentioned they’ve labored on many giant industrial photo voltaic panel installations up to now, together with the Protection Forces, with some retail chains and with dealerships in auto.
However he mentioned he believed it could be the most important set up of its sort in an Irish sports activities stadium and would encourage different initiatives.
“Houses that set up photo voltaic panels can obtain common financial savings on their electrical energy payments of 30% to 50% whereas companies can obtain common financial savings of between 20% to 40%, relying on the house out there for photo voltaic panels. Some companies will clearly obtain increased financial savings,” he mentioned.
Munster Rugby has beforehand pledged to cut back greenhouse gasoline emissions by 50% by 2030 and obtain web zero by 2040.
