Hanshin Koshien Reborn As Eco-Friendly Stadium

Copyright HANSHIN ELECTRIC RAILWAY CO.

Launched in October 2007, the renovation of the Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture was completed in March 2010. A solar power generation system was installed on the large roof called "Gin-san", over the seats. Since its opening to hold the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in 1924, the stadium has been very popular as a sacred place for baseball fans for over 80 years.

They had used well-water/rain-water for sprinkling on the ground and flushing toilets in the stadium, and presented an "eco-friendly stadium" as one of the themes in the renovation, resulting in the installation of the solar power generation system. The amount of estimated electricity generation is 193,000 kWh per year, which is equivalent to the electricity used annually to light the stadium during night games of the Hanshin Tigers, the local professional baseball team.

They also have regrown ivy hanging down over the outer walls of the stadium. Following the renovation, they have planted the seedlings grown from ivy seeds, which once had been cut down in the reinforcement/renovation work of the outer walls. The creation of a layer of air between the ivy and the walls contributes to lowering the stadium's temperature by 5 to 10 degrees Celsius compared to the outside temperature in the summer.

Japanese Pro Baseball Game Powered by Renewable Energy (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/026909.html
Japan's Pro Baseball Teams Start Eco-Project to Cut Energy Use by 6% (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/027087.html

Posted: 2011/03/16 06:00:15 AM