Stadiums with Ecologically Friendly Roofs

Our supply of fossil fuel to power our vehicles and electric power plants is finite. In fact, many scientists predict that in 50 to 100 years, our global stock of oil and natural gases will either diminish to critical levels or disappear completely if we continue our current rate of consumption. Thus, scientists, researchers, and engineers in all aspects of society are racing against time to find renewable, clean energy sources that could be used as alternatives to fossil fuel. One such social sector is sports. The sector's devotion to find cleaner alternative energy cannot be exemplified better than by the construction of two of the greenest and most aesthetically pleasing stadiums in the world, Taiwan's National Stadium and Dublin's Aviva Stadium.

The National Stadium of Taiwan is shaped like a snaking dragon. It is enormous and can hold about 50,000 spectators. But the coolest part of this facility is that the entire roof is made up of 8,844 solar panels that produce 1.14 million kilowatts of electricity per year. In optimal conditions, the panels can generate about 75 percent of the stadium's electricity needs. When the facility is not used, the energy is fed into the local grid, providing 80 percent of the neighbourhood's energy requirement. Another green stadium can be found half a world away in Dublin. The bowl-shaped Aviva Stadium, which also seats 50,000, has a sweeping, sturdy, transparent roof that shelters the interior from the rain and the wind. Yet it allows daylight to seep in, lighting up the interior and significantly reducing the use of artificial lights and heaters. In addition, the stadium is also designed to harvest rainwater to irrigate nearby fields. Finally, it also has a system that reuses waste heat for hot water.