Often it is a storm or other disaster that leads businesses to install a microgrid. But for a Norwegian soccer club, the impetus emerged as they began to view their arena roof differently.
“This project kicked off with a wild idea that it must be possible to use the roof of our arena for something useful,” said Einar Håndlykken, managing director of Odd’s Ballklubb, a soccer club determined to be the greenest in Europe.
Indeed, the Skagerak Arena proved a roof could be far more than a shelter. The roof now sports 18,790 square feet of solar panels that serve as the core of a sophisticated microgrid that not only feeds energy to the stadium but also serves 15 nearby homes in Skien, Norway, a city of 55,000 inhabitants.
In addition, the facility acts as a learning lab for the local utility, Skagerak Nett, helping it collect insights into the operation of a prosumer system — one that both consumes and produces energy in its relationship with the utility.
Called the Skagerak Energilab, the microgrid operates with 800 kW of solar, paired with an 800 kW/1100 kWh battery, which serves the arena’s 375,000 kWh load in concert with power from the local utility.
Soccer club energy use spikes
A multi-tasking controls system and automated energy management helps the soccer club achieve goals to save money, green its energy supply and keep the lights on.
Electric load more than doubles on game days, a common phenomenon for sports matches, but the microgrid helps manage costs through peak shaving. The microgrid assists the soccer club with its green goals by maximizing the use of the on-site solar. At the same time, the system ensures that there are no power outages, especially during soccer matches.
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