Massachusetts, one of the locations of the 2026 FIFA World Cup men’s soccer championship, is known for its forward-looking clean energy policies. The Bay State FIFA event is expected to bring 450,000 visitors to the Boston area, according to the Boston Consulting Group, with nearly 65,000 spectators in Gillette Stadium from June 13 to July 9.
Stadiums are notorious for consuming a lot of electricity, and Gillette is no exception. For example, it boasts the largest outdoor curved-radius videoboard at a sports venue in the country. U.S. sports stadiums including Gillette, however, are increasingly using clean energy.
Kraft Sports and Entertainment, owners of Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place, said it is committed to “delivering sustainable, world-class sports and entertainment events with the goal of managing and reducing environmental impact.”
In 2024, as a result of its initiatives, the stadium earned LEED Gold certification per the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Operations and Maintenance: Existing Buildings criteria.
The initiatives include a 1 MW solar array on the nearby Patriots Place shopping center powers about 60% of its operations. In 2019 it partnered with ENEL Green Power to purchase 900 MWh of renewable energy credits (RECs). The following year it commissioned Bloom Energy to build a 2 MW fuel cell server, which the Kraft Group reports supplies nearly 50% of the stadium’s needs.
The energy servers are composed of solid oxide fuel cells and generate electricity without combustion using a highly efficient, electrochemical process. The use of these servers is expected to reduce nearly 1,500 metric tons of CO2 each year. An added benefit is that the energy servers were designed to operate as a microgrid, enabling the stadium to disconnect from the grid and operate independently.
In addition to fuel cells, solar and purchasing RECs, Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place offer 65 electric vehicle (EV) chargers. Enel X installed 50 JuiceBox Pro smart charging stations throughout Patriot Place. Powered by JuiceNet software, the platform monitors charging patterns and acquires real-time input and signals from the grid to aggregate and manage charging station demand. The Kraft Group reports that in this way the charging network supports the local utility’s peak electricity demand management by charging vehicles at times when electricity costs are lower and renewable energy is most available.
Demand response
Working with Enel, the Gillette Stadium’s facilities staff created a strategy to reduce energy use in order to maximize earnings from demand response programs in New England. Its plan includes, for example, shutting down HVAC units in select areas of the stadium, shutting down non-essential lighting and reducing usage of water chillers. In exchange for powering down these non-essential areas when needed by the grid, the stadium receives standby payments, according to Enel, as well as payments for performance when called upon.
The energy reduction plan also helps reduce capacity charges on the stadium’s electric bill. These charges are calculated based on the stadium’s peak electricity use when demand on the electric grid is its highest over the course of the year. Not only does this demand response approach reduce the stadium’s electric bill, but it helps New England’s electric grid operator and utilities by making peak demand levels easier and less expensive to maintain.
Gillette Stadium, renamed Boston Stadium, is located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, a state that ranks 14th in terms of installed solar capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). With nearly 6 GW installed, the state is receiving 24.62% of its electricity from solar. There are also nearly 200 solar installers/developers in the state.
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