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The Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria, has taken a significant step towards sustainability with the installation of a solar system on its roof. The array features over 9,300 solar panels, 80,000 trapezoidal rails, and more than 5,000 photovoltaic optimizers, designed to generate 3,800 MWh of solar electricity annually, enough to power 1,100 local households.
The installation process is scheduled to take place from November 2024 to March 2025, with painstaking attention to detail to ensure a precise fit of each trapezoidal panel to the stadium’s oval-shaped roof. The solar system is fully integrated into the stadium’s existing grid through a collaboration between Wien Energie and Wiener Netze, with a completion date set for the end of 2025.
Peter Hacker, Vienna City Councillor for Sports, hailed the achievement as a significant milestone, praising the speed and precision of the construction work, and emphasizing that the Happel Stadium will produce more electricity than it consumes, contributing to environmental and climate protection in the city. The stadium’s future plans include integrating heat pumps, energy storage systems, and connections to the nearby stadium swimming pool to maximize the use of excess energy.
Vienna is striding towards achieving climate neutrality by 2040, having already surpassed its 250 MW solar power target ahead of schedule, including 50 MW from city-owned land. The capital has increased its solar power capacity fivefold over the past five years, and in 2024, Austria added 2.2 GW of solar capacity, raising its total to 8.3 GW.