Newcastle United Football Club (NUFC) has collaborated with ENER-G to install a combined heat and power (CHP) system at its St James’ Park stadium in the heart of the city.
The football club, which kicks off its Championship campaign this weekend, has received a 230kWh CHP engine to provide the stadium with electricity and heat.
Due to grid constraints, ENER-G was forced to de-rate the system’s capacity to 185kWh. The system was delivered in three sections, and rebuilt on site, owing to the fact the St James’ Park plant room is located within the stadium itself.
NUFC has entered into a 12-year agreement with ENER-G for operation of the system. The club paid no capital outlay for the equipment, installed on a pay-as-you-save basis, and will not contribute towards its maintenance. Instead it will be charged for any electricity the system produces, albeit at a discounted rate.
Heat supplied by the system is is free of charge.
Eddie Rutherford, facilities manager at NUFC, said that the install was a “major step” in the club’s drive for “outstanding green performance”.
NUFC became the first professional football club in the world to achieve the Carbon Trust Standard in 2012 after attaining carbon positive status. St James’ Park has a raft of energy efficiency measures installed, including natural pitch irrigation, smart building and energy monitoring controls, and significant lighting upgrades.
The club’s staff have also been trained on energy consumption and expenditure.
“The less energy we use, the less carbon we emit, and the less impact we have on the environment, both locally and globally,” Rutherford said.
Ian Hopkins, sales director at ENER-G, added: “The club is demonstrating that environmental leadership also makes good financial sense by reducing its energy bills at the same time as shrinking its carbon footprint.”
Newcastle United is not the first football club to announce the installation of green energy measures in the past few weeks. Last week Bristol City confirmed it had completed a 117kW solar PV array on the main stand of its Ashton Gate stadium under a PPA agreement which would see it save £7,500 per year.
