The world’s first solar powered cricket stadium is in India

11.08.2015 – With the conversion of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, southern India now has a ‘green’ stadium for the country’s national sport.

India’s economy and industry are experiencing a strong upswing. The growing population is being increasingly drawn to the industrial centres. The country therefore faces enormous challenges, as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and as more and more people have to be provided with water and electricity.

The Green Wicket Campaign was launched with the aim of fostering public enthusiasm for the issues of water, energy and waste management. The campaign is a joint initiative of the Government of the south Indian state of Karnataka, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. To achieve its objectives, the campaign seeks to harness the tremendous appeal of India’s national sport. Some of its projects are also funded by private sponsors. As part of Indo-German cooperation, GIZ is supporting the campaign on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Cricket is by far the most popular sport in India, and the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore one of the country’s best-known cricket stadiums. On match days, up to 40,000 spectators flock to the stadium, which was built in 1970. With the support of the Green Wicket Campaign, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has now been converted into a ‘green’ stadium. A modern plant installed on the roof of one of the stands helps collect up to 35 million litres of rainwater every year, which can be used for the sanitary facilities or to water the playing field. An optimised waste disposal system ensures that the trash left behind by spectators is disposed of in an eco-friendly manner and recycled. A solar system on the roof of the eastern stand provides clean energy for the visitor areas and for the changing rooms. The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is the first cricket stadium in the world to be powered by solar energy.

The maintenance of solar systems, such as the one in the Bangalore stadium, is cost-effective, and surplus energy from the roof of the stand can be fed directly into the city’s power grid. While the installation costs will be recouped in just four years, the environment is already benefiting, as the use of solar energy helps save 600 tonnes of CO2 per year. GIZ supported the conversion of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium by taking on the planning and by providing technical advisory services. The Green Wicket Campaign sees the green stadium as a flagship project and hopes it will serve as a model for other organisations in India.