Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, will add more than 1 megawatt of solar to the nearly 600 kW already installed. [Flickr.Com Creative Commons Photo by jkgreenstein12]

We’ve written before about the growing popularity of solar power in the NFL. The prime example is the Washington Redskins home stadium, FedEx Field, which has about 2 megawatts of solar, almost all of it installed on a set of solar canopies in the stadium parking lot. In addition, FedEx Field has directly married solar to EVs, having placed multiple EV charging stations underneath the solar canopies.

While FedEx Field -- which officially went online with solar in Sept. 2011 -- continues to be the flagship solar NFL stadium, Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, is pushing the Redskins for the NFL solar lead.

Gillette Stadium plans to triple the amount of renewable energy produced at the stadium and the adjacent Patriot Place shopping center with a 1-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) array. NRG Energy will install the project under an agreement with The Kraft Group, which owns the complex.

1.6 megawatts of solar
The new installation will push the solar total at Gillette to about 1.6 megawatts. Patriot Place has 525 kW of solar installed on seven of its buildings. This installation went up in 2009. The solar addition will also be mounted at Patriot Place. Patriot Place will now see up to 60 percent of its electricity come from solar, says NRG. Construction of the new system is expected to be complete in time for the 2012-2013 NFL season.

According to our unofficial count, in addition to the Redskins and Patriots, four other NFL teams have installed solar in their home stadiums or at practice facilities: The Arizona Cardinals, the New York Jets, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Seattle Seahawks.

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