Qatar's Eco-Friendly Stadia Take Heat Over High Energy Demand

The Emirate of Qatar is touting its high-tech plans for eco-friendly stadia as part of its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, but some environmentalists argue that there's nothing environmentally conscious about a major stadium in the middle of a desert that will require massive amounts of energy.

As the Middle East environmental blog Green Prophet points out, creating an environment that allows people to watch and play sports in one of the hottest places on the planet will require a lot of energy. Mark Fenwick, one of the architects involved with the project, admitted as much, saying: "Certainly the most important challenge for stadium design in the Middle East has to do with the need to cool the interior environment to an acceptable level, especially in the summer months."

Qatar's Green Plan for a 2022 World Cup Stadium: Is It Really as Eco-friendly as It Looks?
Treehugger
October 29, 2010

Qatar Tries to Boost 2022 Bid With Solar-Powered Stadium

As part of its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, the middle eastern country of Qatar has unveiled plans for a solar-powered stadium.

Revealed at the ‘Leaders in Football’ conference in London this week, the stadium incorporates environmentally friendly cooling technologies to keep spectators and players cool in Doha’s extreme heat. The concave profile of the stadium’s outer enclosure incorporates a system of operable louvers, while the central section of the saddle-form roof can be extended or retracted to allow the pitch to be open to the sky or fully covered.

Encircled by a reflective pool of water, spectators enter the stadium via six bridges that cross the “moat.” To give the impression of floating above the concrete seating bowl, the roof is discreetly supported by a ring of arching columns.

Solar-powered stadium to bolster Qatar’s bid for 2022 World Cup
Gizmag
October 7, 2010

South Africa Asks Visitors to Help Conserve Energy During the Cup

Visitors to South Africa are being asked to help conserve electricity during the World Cup, as power supplies are expected to be pushed to their limits.

Power utility Eskom said in a statement that supplies would very likely be sufficient during the month-long World Cup starting on June 11 but called on the public to use electricity sparingly.

"It is expected that more than 200,000 tourists will arrive in South Africa during the next few weeks and although electricity supply is expected to be sufficient over this period, cold winter temperatures combined with high electricity demand are likely to place Eskom under additional pressure," the utility's Nosipho Maphumulo said.

Foreign visitors will be warned to conserve power through public announcements on flights and notices posted on airline seat tables and in flight magazines.

World Cup fans asked to save electricity
Reuters
May 18, 2010

Cape Town Stadium's High Lighting Costs

It costs roughly 350,000 Rand a month (~$46,000 USD) to light Cape Town Stadium.

City spokesman Pieter Cronje said the city would be responsible for the operating cost of the stadium - including electricity - until it is handed over to the operator, Sail Stadefrance, in November.

While acknowledging that the electricity charges were high, Cronje said they had been budgeted for.

The bill shows that the stadium is an energy-guzzler, with R272 000 worth of electricity used in the September-October billing period, R352 000 in November, R312 000 in December and R308 000 in January.

Shocking cost of lighting up CT stadium
Cape Argus
April 29, 2010

Despite Cutbacks By Mining Industry, Power Outages Are Likely During World Cup

The mining industry has been asked to limit its use of energy during the World Cup to stave off any possible power outages, which is expected to push metal prices up. But even with these efforts, energy officials say there's no guarantee that power supply will be able to match demand.

Eskom, the South African power utility, is under such strain that voluntary action may not be enough to prevent a crunch in supply.

South Africa generates between 36 gigawatts and 39 gigawatts of power, depending on availability. Demand during the World Cup is estimated to be 37.2 gigawatts, prompting fears that electricity supply to big industrial consumers could be rationed.

World Cup 2010 faces threat of blackouts and soaring metal prices
Times
March 20, 2010

Generators Act as Safety Net Against Power Outages During Cup Games

The threat of intermittent power outages throughout South Africa will be addressed in World Cup stadia during events through the donation of diesel generators from energy corporation BP.

It was confirmed in April last year that neighbouring countries of South Africa would, if called upon, divert electricity supply to South Africa however, these now appears to be a backup solution if all stadiums are now to run on BP powered generators.

BP to power 2010 World Cup stadiums
World Cup 2010 South Africa
March 16, 2010

Blackouts and Energy Loss a Concern During World Cup

Energy company Eskom is assuring South Africans that there will be no power outages due to increased demand during the World Cup. The economic recession and rising mineral prices have many concerned about outages and economic losses as energy demands rise sharply during the World Cup.

Officials at the parastatal energy giant Eskom say they are confident they will not have any blackouts during the matches, which kick off on June 11 and run for one month.

But South Africans have sharp memories of nationwide power failures in January 2008, which shut down the critical mining sector, hobbled factories and left cities plunged into darkness for days.

Strain on the electricity supply eased as the global recession sapped mining orders and cut demand for power from the energy-intensive industry.

Eskom answers 2010 power concerns
AFP
October 11, 2009

Hotel Shortages in Durban; Neighbors Pledge Energy for World Cup

Durban is expected to need almost 20,000 additional hotel rooms by the time the World Cup begins next year. In other news, neighboring nations have pledged to contribute power to South Africa during the 2010 event to ensure there are no shortages or blackouts.

More than 35 000 hotel rooms have been pledged to accommodate visiting football fans during the 2010 Fifa World Cup and more than 19 000 are still needed.

With 408 days left until the football showpiece gets under way, South Africa's neighbours have also pledged to help ensure an adequate power supply for the World Cup, Eskom said on Monday.

"The Southern African Power Pool (Sapp) on Tuesday pledged to support South Africa ... in areas of generation, transmission, customer contributions and demand side management initiatives at a meeting that took place in Maputo, Mozambique."

Countries that make up the Sapp include Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Durban short of 2010 beds
Independent Online
April 28, 2009

Green Elements Missing from 2010 Plans

Critics have called out the Local Organizing Committee for its lack of environmentally-conscious preparation for the World Cup. The LOC says plans are on their way.

The Cities of Cape Town and Durban are the only host cities that have tabled interventions to reduce the carbon footprint of the event. Both cities have identified target areas such as transport, water, waste management, energy and climate change, and have implemented a number of actions that will mitigate these impacts.

“We have, however, been working towards a national launch of this programme, but that hasn’t happened as yet. There have been a number of problems - it has been the finalisation of the copyright assignment agreement between the designer, ourselves and FIFA,” explained LOC environment representative Ike Ndlovu to Engineering News.

He adds that the LOC is close to concluding the national launch, and that an announcement will be made soon in this regard.

...With its experience following the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the German political foundation, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), sponsored a series of eight facilitated workshops and two discussion forums with a range of experts, stakeholders and interested parties to assist the City of Cape Town and Western Cape provincial government in developing its Green Goal projects.

Three of these workshops, focusing on sustainable development principles, green building, biodiversity, landscaping and sustainable tourism were held in 2007, with two more held in early 2008 on integrated waste management, and project funding and communications. The 2009 workshops have focused on monitoring the progress of the projects.

The Cape Town Host City Action Plan alludes to the fact that a “comprehensive and integrated set of targets are being developed by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (Deat) and the LOC to assist host cities to mitigate the environmental, social and economic impacts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup”.

Source:
Copyright issues delay launch of SA's ‘Green Goal 2010’ strategy
Engineering News
April 14, 2009

Neighbors Volunteer to Lend Energy During Cup

South Africa's capacity to generate power will likely not be enough during the high demand period of the 2010 World Cup. Neighboring countries have volunteered to lend some of their power to South Africa during the Cup.

Zambia, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are among the 12 countries that will sign an undertaking to support an emergency plan for the tournament.

Lawrence Musaba of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) is quoted saying SAPP members will make 2 000MW to 3 000MW of "emergency power" available during the World Cup.

South Africa has of late experienced power cuts as there was little energy generation.

Source:
Neighbours give South Africa electricity for 2010 WC
Afrik.com
April 8, 2009