
Football / Bristol City
Solar panels for Ashton Gate
Ashton Gate is hoping to reduce its carbon emissions by 20 per cent with the help of solar panels installed on the new stadium’s roof.
Bristol Sport has worked with Bristol City Council to hook up to the panels which are also likely to save £150,000 on energy bills over the next 20 years.
Under a city-wide scheme, the council recuperates the cost of instillation while charging Bristol Sport under the market value for electricity generated. Once the panels are paid for, ownership is handed to Bristol Sport.
is needed now More than ever
Under the council’s climate and energy strategy, business can partner to have solar panels installed as well as connect to the city’s heat network by emailing energy@bristol.gov.uk.
Following the Paris climate change talks last year, former mayor George Ferguson committed the council to making Bristol a zero carbon city by 2020, with 100 per cent renewable energy.
Helen Holland, current cabinet member for energy and the new arena which is also due to host solar panels, said: “The city council can’t achieve this by ourselves, so working with partners like Bristol Sport is going to be essential if we’re going to hit our goal.
“Ashton Gate is such an important venue for football and rugby fans in Bristol. Working with Bristol Sport during their amazing transformation of the stadium sends a really strong message that it makes commercial sense for high energy consuming businesses to install renewables onsite, and Bristol City Council can help with that.”
Read more: Images of new Ashton Gate revealed