Turkish club breaks energy record amid worldwide crisis

ISTANBUL

Amid the energy crisis intensifying worldwide due to the Ukraine war, Galatasaray has broken Guinness World Record for producing 63 percent of its stadium energy, daily Milliyet has reported.

Both the increasing energy prices and the climate crisis have started to bring the issue of energy saving to the agenda of football.

With over 10,000 solar panels installed on its roof, Galatasaray’s Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex has entered the Guinness Book of Records in terms of electricity production, while the electricity saved by this project, which provides 63 percent of the stadium’s electricity, is equivalent to the consumption of 2,000 houses per year.

In the project initiated in March 2021, the panels placed on the Nef Stadium with a production of 4.3 megawatts of electricity annually ranked first in the world, unseating a stadium in Brazil.

The facility, which produces electricity from a 100 percent green energy source, contributes to nature by preventing the emission of approximately 3,250 tons of carbon dioxide every year.

Nearly 200,000 trees will be saved and more than 1 billion Turkish Liras ($55.000) in revenue will be generated at the end of 25 years thanks to this system.

Meanwhile, some clubs have various plans to combat global warming, which has recently caused unusual climate events all over the world, as Germany-based energy firm Selectra revealed that football with costs such as lighting and fuel spent for taking the team to the stadium for home matches and away for other weeks produces between 0.3 and 0.4 percent of the world’s global emission, which is roughly equivalent to the total emissions produced by Denmark.

Bundesliga’s SC Freiburg pioneers in giving priority to renewable and sustainable energy sources, while the new stadium opened a year ago has the capacity to generate approximately 2.4 megawatts of electricity with its roof consisting of 6,200 solar panels.

Furthermore, German giant Bayern Munich, which heats its turf with solar energy, reduced the time it leaves the lights on around the stadium from six to three at night.

A total of 194 clubs and organizations from all over the world signed the Sports for Climate Action, a project prepared by the United Nations that invites sports organizations and their stakeholders to join a new climate action for sport movement aimed at supporting and guiding sports actors in achieving global climate change goals.

Forest Green Rovers from English Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system, is the only football team in the world that has reached zero carbon level, while 80 percent of the team members’ carbon footprints have been reduced, according to team officials.