Lincoln Financial Field (the Linc), home to the Philadelphia Eagles, is about to become even greener.
The Inquirer’s Sandy Bauers reports that as of opening day 2011, the stadium, which is already lauded for its recycling and vegetarian meal options, will operate 100 wind turbines, 2,500 solar panels and a cogeneration power plan that runs on biodiesel or natural gas. These elements working together will provide enough power to fully operate the stadium during game time.
Team owners, Jeffrey and Christina Lurie believe the plan is not only environmentally important, but a matter of good business. They expect the new green initiatives to generate a savings of $60 million over the next twenty years. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell believes that the visibility of the stadium in South Philadelphia will prove to fans and those driving or flying by that environmental sensitivity can be great business.
Though the plan is being funded by the Eagles organization and is not connected to Mayor Nutter’s Greenworks plan, it does help promote his notion of making Philadelphia the greenest city in the nation. The Mayor called the stadium additions “most ambitious” and said the city is excited and supportive of the venture.
When the Linc was built in 2003, green building was primarily still a concept, but since launching their Go Green initiative last year, the Lurie’s are making it a reality in South Philadelphia. As part of their Go Green initiative, the Linc had a 31.7 recycling rate in 2009 and used 50 percent less energy last year than it did in 2003.
Allen Hershkowitz, who works as a senior scientist and director of the sports greening initiative at the Natural Resources Defense Council, applauds the Lurie’s on their efforts citing studies that show just 18 percent of Americans follow science while 56 percent follow sports. Hershkowitz explains, “If you want to change the world, you have to go where people are. That’s what the Eagles are doing.”
Partnering with the Eagles in the project is Orlando based renewable energy and conservation company, Solar Blue. Solar Blue will install, operate, and maintain the solar panels as part of a 20-year contract to buy the electricity at a fixed 3 percent annual increase. The solar plant at the stadium will generate 7.6 megawatts of energy. Wind will contribute an additional .86 megawatts.
And while some scoff at savings that barely cover a star athlete’s contract, there are other economic benefits to be considered as well. During the planning and installation, Solar Blue will employ 200 people, 50 of which will stay on board for the length of the contract. An additional 600 contracting jobs will be created locally.
But it is Jeffrey Lurie who best summarizes the efforts and their impact: “It behooves American business to join those that have been much more aware, not wait for the government and not wait for the paradigms in America to change. That’s the challenge and the opportunity here.”
