Brazil opens first solar-powered stadium
ahead of 2014 World Cup

News: a 1960s football stadium in Brazil has become the first of several in the country to be equipped with a solar-powered roof in preparation for next year’s FIFA World Cup.

The Mineirão Stadium in the south-eastern city of Belo Horizonte, originally built in 1965, has been fitted with a 1.4MW solar array on its rooftop.

The €12.5 million (£10.7 million) project will see energy fed back into the grid rather than being used directly by the stadium.

The next ground to be converted is the Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasilia, which will be fitted with a 2.5MW solar array providing enough solar energy to power nearly half the stadium.

Organisers had initially hoped to install solar arrays in all 12 of the 2014 World Cup venues, but with just over a year until the tournament starts, that target appears to have been lowered.

Earlier this year, the stadium in Rio de Janeiro that was set to host athletics tournaments during the 2016 Olympics was closed indefinitely due to structural problems with its roof.

We recently reported on plans for a new basketball stadium on the waterfront in San Francisco and news that construction has begun on a football stadium in Bordeaux, France, designed by Herzog & de Meuron – see all stadiums.

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