Turkish Süper Lig football club Galatasaray has entered the Guinness Book of Records after installing the world’s largest stadium-mounted solar power plant at Nef Stadium.
According to Galatasaray, the solar power plant, which has been fitted on the stadium roof, will contribute more than TRY1bn (£51m/€61m/$67m) to the club over the next 25 years.
The Istanbul-based club entered into a partnership with Enerjisa last March to install the plant at the 52,000-seat stadium. The plant will supply both the club and the local area with solar power.
Work on the plant, which comprises more than 10,000 solar panels, commenced in December. Enerjisa will operate the plant for 10 years, after which point Galatasaray will assume control.
The plant covers an area of around 40,000 square metres and Enerjisa covered the TRY20m cost of construction. Galatasaray said the plant will prevent the emission of approximately 3,250 tonnes of CO2 every year.
The solar panels will generate 4,650 MWh of electricity, which is the equivalent to the consumption of around 2,000 households per year.
Galatasaray president Burak Elmas said: “The most important feature of this project is that it is the largest solar power plant installed on the roof of a football stadium in the world. On the other hand, it has the distinction of being the first project to be implemented with a performance-based business model on the roof of a stadium in Turkey.
“We completed our project on time. At Galatasaray Sports Club, we are aware of the importance of using energy produced from domestic and renewable resources. We know that the way to reduce our country’s dependence on foreign energy and to create employment is to use our energy correctly.”
Image: 1886kusagi/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size
