WASHINGTON — Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, will set the stage for Sunday’s Super Bowl, and it will be a solar-powered event.
Levi’s Stadium, which opened in July 2014, is the first professional football stadium in the NFL to open with LEED Gold certification, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association in Washington.
Princeton, New Jersey-based NRG Solar LLC installed more than 1,150 solar panels at the stadium during its construction — enough to produce 375 kilowatts of peak power. The system can generate enough power in a year to meet electricity demand during every San Francisco 49ers home game.
The solar panels cover three bridges that connect the stadium to the main parking lot and the “NRG Solar Terrace” that overlooks the field.
There are 544 solar panels on the stadium roof and another 642 on the bridges, which also serve as canopies covering the bridges.
In 2015, nearly a third of the NFL teams played or trained at stadiums with on-site solar assets, the Solar Energy Industries Association says.
Baltimore Ravens, awarded LEED-certified Gold designation for sustainability efforts at M&T Bank Stadium, contracted with Constellation last year to construct a 375-kilowatt solar system at the team’s headquarters and training facility, the Under Armour Performance Center, in Owings Mills.
