News article
Universidad Católica sets new stadium benchmark in Chile
The new home of Chilean Primera División football club Universidad Católica (UC) will be the first stadium in the country to be powered by green energy.
The stadium will be supported by a solar plant and will incorporate various solutions, such as demand monitoring, charging devices for electric vehicles, architectural lighting and a renewed infrastructure to support a 100% electric stadium.
UC has partnered with Enel Chile, Enel Generación and Enel X for the supply of 100% renewable electricity. The new facilities will have a renewable energy self-generation plant, which will be able to completely cover six games a month, while the entire differential will be under contract for the supply of certified electricity of 100% renewable origin for 2.4 GWh/year from solar, wind, hydraulic or geothermal plants.
"With the signing of this agreement, the UC is contributing to the goal of carbon neutrality that we have as a country."
“The project that the Universidad Católica is developing in the construction of its new stadium is in line with how the new works in Chile should be conceived,” said Maisa Rojas, Chile’s Environment Minister.
“With the signing of this agreement, the UC is contributing to the goal of carbon neutrality that we have as a country. To think of sustainable constructions – where materials are reused, the consumption of water and other natural resources is reduced – is to think about the future. We live in a triple planetary crisis, which is pollution, climate change and loss of biodiversity, and an important way to face it is to think differently about architectural works, public spaces and infrastructures.”
Fabrizio Barderi, Enel Chile General Manager, added: “For the Enel Group, through its subsidiaries of Enel Generación Chile and Enel X, it is proud to partner with one of the most important sports institutions in the country such as the Catholic University, and to advance in the energy efficiency and sustainability of venues as emblematic as this new stadium, developing a unique energy project in Chile at the service of sport.”
The consumption of renewable energy will be equivalent to the reduction of approximately 1,7000 tonnes of CO2, or the equivalent of planting 97,600 trees. This will remove the equivalent of 565 cars from circulation per year or the CO2 associated with the consumption of 319 homes.
Image: Universidad Católica