MFA to go solar

The Malta Football Association is to contribute to Malta’s renewable energy output by using the huge space in and around the national stadium for this purpose.

The association has recently presented a planning application, which envisions the development of a massive solar farm in and around the Ta’ Qali national stadium, consisting of 4,763 solar panels covering over 31,480 square metres of land.

The solar farm proposed by the MFA will include 2,304 panels set on an existing car park, 512 panels on the west stand, 720 panels on a reservoir, 720 panels on land opposite the reservoir, 318 panels on the stadium’s roof and 189 panels on the centenary ground’s stand.

MEPA is currently drafting a policy on solar farms. The objective is to establish a policy framework for the development of solar farms. The policy is set to prioritise the development of solar infrastructure on large-scale rooftops and on land already committed to industrial development and for quarries.

Installing solar panels in stadiums is becoming a global trend.

Complete with 6,000 solar panels, Mineirão was the first World Cup stadium ever powered by solar energy. The plant’s installed capacity of 1,600 megawatts-hour per year (1.4 MW) is enough to power 1,200 households, according to the Brazilian federal government’s World Cup website. 10 percent of the energy produced is used in powering the Mineirão staduium and the rest is transferred to consumers.