Manchester City Women’s Joie Stadium completes vast solar panel project

Manchester City Women’s Joie Stadium has completed a sustainability project which has seen almost 3,000 solar panels installed on the venue’s roof.

The Barclays Women’s Super League team’s stadium is now one of the largest solar panel sites in Manchester city centre. Some 2,878 panels were installed through a partnership with Jinko, the club’s official solar panel partner.

The Joie Stadium completion is a milestone in a wider project that will see the more than 10,500 solar panels installed at the City Football Academy training facility. Once complete, the panels will generate enough renewable energy to offset the annual power requirements needed to run the City Football Academy.

Pete Bradshaw, Manchester City’s director of sustainability, said: “The completion of the Joie Stadium solar panel installation is an important step in the club’s efforts to be net carbon zero by 2030. By transitioning to self-supplied renewable energy, we will guarantee a consistent flow of clean power that offsets the energy required to run the stadium and significantly reduce its environmental impact.

“In doing so, this installation undoubtedly makes the Joie Stadium one of the most sustainable stadiums in world football.”

Ground-mounted panels

Overall, the solar panel installation is being split into two phases. Phase one is focused on adding panels to the roofs of facilities across the City Football Academy and is expected to be completed before the end of 2024. The includes adding 2,288 panels to operational facilities such as Studio 1, City Studio’s production hub that creates creative content for the club’s channels, partners and broadcasters.

Phase two will see thousands of ground-mounted panels added across the training facility before the end of the 2024/25 season.

The Joie Stadium will transition to self-supplied renewable energy later in the season once the panel project has been completed. Until then, the club will continue to power the stadium, and the wider City Football Academy, with 100% renewable energy procured under a Power Purchase Agreement.

Charlotte O’Neill, managing director of Manchester City Women, added: “As a club, we are constantly challenging ourselves to improve, and today’s announcement is another example of this.”