Christopher BarrettOak View Group (OVG) said that, once completed, its 23,500-capacity Co-op Live venue will be the first arena in the UK to be solely powered by electricity.
The £350 million venue, located next to Manchester City football club’s Etihad Stadium in the Eastlands area of Manchester, will use electricity for everything from air-source heat pumps for heating and domestic hot water through to cooling and catering. Rooftop solar panels will be used to power day-to-day activity, with green electricity from the grid topping up capacity for events.
OVG, the US company formed in 2015 by former AEG CEO Tim Leiweke and former chairman of Live Nation Entertainment and artiste manager Irving Azoff, said that by not using gas boilers the venue would use around half the energy consumed by arenas of a similar size.
It said the arena will be on track towards achieving net zero carbon by Manchester City Council’s target of 2038.
Co-op Live is currently around one year into the build phase. A fleet of electric vehicles is being used to deliver materials to the site.
OVG International COO Mark Donnelly said, “Climate change is the single largest problem facing the planet today and we take our responsibility in creating a greener world seriously. In Co-op Live, we are building a planet-friendly venue as well as one capable of hosting the world’s best events. I’m proud that it’s going to be the UK’s first all-electric arena and we’re also implementing a range of other features including solar panels, rainwater harvesting, and extensive green spaces to make sure it’s the UK’s most sustainable.”
The key planned environmental features of Co-op Live:
- 100% electric building
- Air source heat pumps
- 8,883m2 solar panels
- 100% rainwater harvesting
- 2,791m2 of greening
- 240 covered cycles spaces and encouragement of low carbon transport
- LED lighting
- BREEAM Excellent rating
- 0 waste to landfill
- 0 food waste