After the Commonwealth Games floodlights have been switched off at the Thyagaraj Stadium, the complex will continue to light up around 1,800 homes.

The highlight venue of the ‘Green Games’, the stadium will generate 4.5-MW electricity through its solar panels-fitted roof and gas-based turbines. The power, after the Games, will be supplied to the Northern Grid and further to consumers.

The solar panels — fitted on the 18,122 sq metre roof of the stadium — will generate 1 MW of power. Eight firms bid for the Rs 20 crore project after tenders were floated and bids were invited. 

The stadium also boasts of CNG-based turbines, which will generate additional 3.5 MW. During the Games the turbine, manufactured by a US-based firm and assembled by a Swiss company, will be the primary source of power for the venue and a BSES line will act as the back-up. According to sources, Rs 19 crore is being spent for this project.

This, however, is not the only attraction of the environment-friendly building.

The stadium will also check the release of turbine’s exhaust fumes into the atmosphere and ensure that energy is conserved. A vapour absorption machine has been installed for this purpose and it will use the hot exhaust air to power the 1,300 tonne air-conditioning system of the complex.

“We will be saving a lot of energy and money by using the hot air exhaust of the turbine to power the AC. Normally a 1,300-tonne AC’s monthly power bill would be Rs 32 lakh,” project manager and PWD engineer Anil Kumar Pandit said.

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