[OKC] From NYT: For Eagles, a Winning Mix of Wind, Biodiesel and Solar

[Miles, Karen]

For a football team, my Eagles is one of the most environmentally
friendly.  Here is the latest:


For Eagles, a Winning Mix of Wind, Biodiesel and Solar


By KEN BELSON
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/ken_belson
/index.html?inline=nyt-per> 

Sports arenas and stadiums are all about getting the most number of
people to spend the maximum amount of money in the shortest amount of
time possible. 
But a growing number of sports buildings from Boston to Los Angeles are
becoming efficient in other ways, by saving energy and reducing waste
with solar panels, low-flush toilets and composting. 
On Thursday, the Philadelphia Eagles
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/profootball/nationalfootballl
eague/philadelphiaeagles/index.html?inline=nyt-org>  announced perhaps
the most ambitious green initiative yet: the installation of about 2,500
solar panels, 80 20-foot-high wind turbines
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/w/wind_pow
er/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>  and a generator that runs on
natural gas and biodiesel
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/b/biofuels
/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>  so that Lincoln Financial Field, the
Eagles' home, will be the first stadium capable of generating all its
own electricity. 
Becoming self-sufficient in energy is the latest in a string of
environmentally friendly measures the Eagles have taken since they
opened their stadium in 2003. (Coincidentally, the team's primary color
is green.) Since then, many teams have introduced similar efficiency
programs, and the four major sports leagues have set up programs to help
their teams share information about how to use less energy, reduce waste
and save money. 
As large as they are, sports stadiums consume just a sliver of the
nation's energy and produce a fraction of its waste. But they are seen
and used by millions of Americans every day, which has helped leagues
counter the perception that sports teams are wasteful enterprises and in
fact can convey socially responsible messages to fans of all political
and economic stripes. 
The Eagles' green efforts "underscore the position that we are all very
visible and can make a significant effort in our communities," said 
Roger Goodell
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/roger_good
ell/index.html?inline=nyt-per> , the commissioner of the N.F.L.
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/nat
ional_football_league/index.html?inline=nyt-org>  "We think it's smart
business and the right thing to do." 
To become self-sufficient, the Eagles have hired Solar Blue, a
Florida-based company that will spend more than $30 million to install
the solar panels, wind turbines and dual-fuel co-generation plant by the
start of next season. Solar Blue chose vertical wind turbines because
they produce less noise than bladed ones. They will also capture energy
at night. The panels and turbines will meet about 25 percent of the
stadium's energy needs, with the generator covering the remainder, and
will be visible to fans in the stadium, on television and to drivers
passing by. 
The Eagles will pay Solar Blue fixed amounts for their energy with
increases of 3 percent a year over 20 years, which gives Solar Blue a
guaranteed buyer and the Eagles a predictable source of renewable energy
without worrying about erratic spikes in prices. The Eagles expect that
their alliance with Solar Blue will help reduce their energy costs by
almost 25 percent in the first year. Solar Blue can sell any excess
energy it creates to the local utility, PECO. 
Article continues at: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/sports/football/18stadium.html?_r=1&nl
=todaysheadlines&emc=a27
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sustainableokc.org/pipermail/okc-sustainableokc.org/attachments/20101123/f9ee2121/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 2310 bytes
Desc: image001.gif
URL: <http://lists.sustainableokc.org/pipermail/okc-sustainableokc.org/attachments/20101123/f9ee2121/attachment.gif>