England’s cricket international against Australia in Southampton was part-powered by a new solar array on the roof of the Utilita Bowl stadium.
Over the summer the stadium has seen installation of 1,044 panels on its roof, which will provide roughly a quarter of the total electricity used by the stadium, including enough to cover entire match days.
The Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie Stand, Shane Warne Stand, Arthur Holt Pavilion & Hampshire Wellbeing Centre and the Hilton Southampton – Utilita Bowl all now have panel arrays to help the club meet its ambitious, environmentally conscious goals.
The summer also saw six electric vehicle chargers installed at the Hilton Southampton – Utilita Bowl.
A switch-on ceremony was held before England’s IT20 test against Australia.
There seem to be more and more International cricket matches in various formats T20, ODI, Test Matches which I welcome as a cricket fan. However, we would be failing in our duty to future generations if we fail to consider the green house gas impact of so much international transport. The old days of the England (MCC) team going by ship to Australia are long gone, but we must surely go above and beyond to compensate by having land (rail, e-coach) transport wherever possible, and certainly make all stadiums zero-carbon. We play cricket in the sunnier months when all is said and done.