EN 
PT_BR 
Brazilians' greatest passion is football. Many fans even consider it a religion and travel distances that cross borders to watch their teams play.
Now, another passion that is increasingly gaining people's hearts and admiration is solar energy, a clean, renewable source that promotes savings and also helps the environment by reducing CO₂.
So how do you bring these two passions together? Well, big football stages are already using photovoltaic energy, which is helping to reduce electricity costs and also adding sustainability to projects.
Check out, below, five football stadiums that have installed solar plants and information about their systems.
Maracanã
Located in Rio de Janeiro, the Jornalista Mário Filho stadium, known as Maracanã, received, in 2014, a system with 1,552 solar modules, which cover an area of 2,380 m² and are capable of generating 500 MWh per year.
The energy generated at Maracanã is sold by Light, which took over the management and maintenance of the system.
Mineirão
In Belo Horizonte (MG), the Governador Magalhães Pinto Stadium, Mineirão, was the first stadium in the world to host a World Cup match (Colombia x Greece, on June 14, 2014) operating with a 1, 42 MWp.
In total, around 6 thousand modules were used. All energy generated is injected into the company’s distribution network. Cemig (Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais) to be commercialized.
Arena Pernambuco
The solar plant at the Arena Pernambuco stadium, in Recife, was the first of its kind to be installed in the state, at the end of 2013. The plant has 3,652 photovoltaic panels capable of generating 1,500 MWp of energy per year, equivalent to 30% of the stadium's consumption .
Pituaçu
The Governador Roberto Santos stadium, located in Salvador (Bahia), is known as Pituaçu and was the first in Latin America to have a solar energy system, installed in 2012, with 2,292 photovoltaic modules capable of generating 630 MWh of energy per year. .
Mané Garrincha
The Mané Garrincha Stadium, located in Brasília (DF), gained, in 2014, a solar plant capable of generating 3 thousand MWh/year. The panels occupy around 15 thousand m² – 75% of the concrete roof area. The plate installation service cost R$ 15 million.
