“Constellation is helping the Ravens extend our efforts to promote renewable energy to the Under Armour Performance Center,” said Kevin Rochlitz, senior vice president of corporate sales and business development. “We are proud to be a model of sustainability for the NFL and our fans, and we look forward to continuing to work with Constellation to make a positive difference in our community and environment.”
Constellation will own and operate the solar power system, while the Ravens will purchase the electricity generated by the solar panels from Constellation under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
“The Ravens are a recognized leader in the NFL, and Constellation is proud to help them achieve their goals by powering their headquarters with energy from the Constellation solar power system,” said Bruce Stewart, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Constellation. “We are committed to advancing renewable energy in Maryland, and we hope this project will showcase the benefits of solar power to all Ravens players, employees and fans.”
The solar power system will be located at the Under Armour Performance Center, the team’s 200,000-square-foot training facility that houses a full-size indoor practice field, player support functions, a TV studio and executive offices. The new system will consist of approximately 1,210 photovoltaic panels on the facility’s field house and grounds keeping buildings.
The system is expected to generate approximately 460,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, which is approximately 15 percent of the team headquarters’ electricity needs. Generating the same amount of electricity using nonrenewable sources would result in the release of approximately 317 tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent emissions of nearly 13,000 tailgaters with propane grills, or 67 passenger vehicles annually, according to U.S. EPA data for the region.
The project is the latest in a long series of environmental initiatives by the Ravens. They were the first NFL team to earn a LEED-certified Gold designation by the U.S. Green Building Council for their sustainability efforts at M&T Bank Stadium. The team previously worked with Constellation to match the electricity used during “Green Games” through the purchase of Green-e Energy certified wind renewable energy certificates.
The project expands Constellation’s role as the No. 1 solar energy producer in Maryland. To date, the company operates 29 MW of solar projects in the state and expects to have an additional 30 megawatts operational by the end of 2015.
