NFL Increases Green Power for Indianapolis Super Bowl

The National Football League and host city Indianapolis is purchasing green power for all major facilities involved in Sunday’s Super Bowl game.

The NFL Environmental Program, now in its 18th year, develops projects each year to address solid waste, food waste, material reuse, and climate change impact of Super Bowl events, but this is the first year that green power purchasing will extend beyond the stadium.

This year, everything from stadium lights to computers in the media center will be offset by 15,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy certificates (RECs) supplied by Green Mountain Energy Company. Facilities include Lucas Oil Stadium, site of Super Bowl XLVI, the Indiana Convention Center, site of the NFL Experience Football Theme Park, and all four of the major NFL hotels including the NFL Headquarters, the Super Bowl Media Center, and the AFC and NFC team hotels.

Renewable energy certificates provide additional revenue stream to clean energy projects that can help build future renewable energy facilities. The Green Mountain Energy RECs are being generated by wind farms located in North Dakota.

Overall, the RECs are equivalent to more than 14,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions associated with Super Bowl electricity consumption over the course of the month-long period leading up to and immediately following Super Bowl XLVI.

Green Mountain also is donating a residential solar power system to be incorporated into the Near East Side Legacy Project, an Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee effort to revitalize one of the city's central neighborhoods.

Green Mountain has also joined the NFL to support urban forestry projects that will take place in the spring, after Super Bowl has come and gone. Trees will be planted in Indianapolis neighborhoods in partnership with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. The final tree-planting event will include the annual passing of a “golden shovel” to next year's New Orleans Super Bowl XLVII Host Committee – a tradition that began in 2008.

In addition, Green Mountain will provide carbon offsets to balance out the greenhouse gas emissions created by air and ground travel by the AFC and NFC teams competing in Super Bowl. These third party certified offsets are intended to mitigate the environmental impact created by transportation greenhouse gas emissions.

“Green Mountain Energy Company has helped us reduce the overall environmental impact of Super Bowl activities,” according to NFL Environmental Program Director Jack Groh. “Together, we have been able to expand the way we address greenhouse gas emissions and leave a permanent benefit to the host community.”

In addition to Green Mountain’s support for Super Bowl environmental projects, the company is providing renewable energy certificates to green the electricity used at Aloha Stadium, site of the 2012 NFL Pro Bowl. Green Mountain, along with the NFL and nearly a dozen local partners, is also helping to fund a local urban forestry project at the Waianae Boys and Girls Club in Hawaii.

Bart King is a PR consultant and principal at Cleantech Communications.