Manchester City Plans Training Facility Renewable Energy Transformation

Manchester City has announced plans to make its training facility one of the largest producers of renewable energy in world football.

The club seeking planning approval from Manchester City Council for the installation of 10,887 solar panels which will generate up to 4.39 MWh of renewable energy every year.

While the self-supplied energy will completely offset the City Football Academy’s annual usage, the power will be shared with the Etihad Stadium.

In doing so, the project forms a key part of the club’s efforts to be carbon net zero by 2030.  

More than 3,000 panels will be located on the roof of the 7,000-capacity Joie Stadium, which is home to Manchester City Women, while a further 3,942 will be located on the roofs of other facilities on site such as the First Team and Academy Building.  

An additional 3,830 panels will be installed on frames over footpaths and pitch-side areas of the City Football Academy.  
Subject to planning approval, the panels will be fully operational by the end of 2024, and they will be installed and managed by Manchester-based renewable energy developer, Clearvolt.

Commenting on the announcement, the club’s Director of Sustainability, Pete Bradshaw, said: “It is with great excitement that we can reveal our plans to completely offset the power required to run the day-to-day operations of the City Football Academy, by becoming one of football’s largest producers of self-supplied, renewable energy.

“Over many years, we have adopted increasingly sustainable practices across the Club, ranging from the removal of all single-use plastic on a matchday to reusing rainwater and recycling more than 70% of our waste.

“As we look ahead on our roadmap to being net carbon zero by 2030, we know that the production and consumption of renewable energy has an incredibly important role to play, which is why we are delighted at the prospect of installing over 10,800 solar panels at our home in Manchester.”

Since being built ten years ago on former industrial wasteland, the City Football Academy has gone on to achieve the gold standard under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines (L.E.E.D). This is the world’s most widely used green building rating system.