New York Olympics Bid Includes Wind- and Solar-Powered Stadium

June 23, 2004

Conceptual drawing of New York's new stadium.

New York City's proposed new stadium includes vertical-axis wind turbines along the top of its two highest sides.
Credit: NY Convention Corridor

While Athens, Greece, gears up for this summer's Olympic Games, New York City is bidding to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, and is including a renewable-powered stadium as part of its bid. The proposed New York Sports and Convention Center (NYSCC), as currently planned, will include 25,000 solar collector tubes for solar hot water, 100,000 square feet of solar photovoltaic panels, and 34 wind turbines. When not serving as an Olympic venue, the stadium will be the new home for the New York Jets, and during football games it will produce all of its electricity and 70 percent of its hot water from its renewable energy systems. Since the facility also includes a convention center, which uses a considerable amount of power, it will meet 40 percent of its overall electricity needs using solar and wind energy. If built, the facility will be located on Manhattan's West Side, on a platform covering the Long Island Rail Road storage yards. See the announcement by the New York Jets, and see details of the plan and a short online video showing the proposed solar panels and wind turbines in action on the NYSCC Web site.

New York is one of five cities selected to compete for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will make its decision in July 2005. See the IOC announcement.