Connecticut Open
A solar array will replace seats in an upper-level section.
The Connecticut Tennis Center may have failed to book Aretha Franklin for a concert this fall, but it will soon harness the power of another, even bigger star.
The arena’s upper stands will soon be filled by solar panels, after the site plan was unanimously approved by the City Plan Commission on Tuesday night. The Tennis Foundation of Connecticut, which owns the 15,000-seat stadium, plans to remove about 1,600 spots from the south-facing, top-tier bleachers to put in an array of photovoltaic panels.
“I have not heard of a project like this specifically [in other cities], replacing bleachers,” said Brendan Smith, a systems designer for Sunlight Solar. “It’s almost perfectly designed for it. There’s absolutely no shading up there. It will be pitched at 30 degrees, which is optimal for this part of the country, and due south. It couldn’t get any better.”
The installation is being paid for by Star Power Energy, LLC, a Branford company that hooks up nonprofits with the panels for free, and will be gifted to the foundation after 20 years. That process is expected to begin in mid-October, pending the approval of building permits. Once the bleachers are out, it takes about a month to put in the photovoltaic panels and another month for the utility to approve the connection.
The panels won’t be visible outside the stadium, planning staff noted.
The system is expected to generate 132,000 kilowatt-hours annually, the energy equivalent of keeping 150 bright incandescent light bulbs lit all year-round. The owners estimate it will offset about 15 percent of the arena’s total energy usage.
The installation coincides with the Tennis Foundation’s move into the stadium at 45 Yale Ave., said Lucas Bohr, the facility manager. In the past, aside from the couple months of prep for the Connecticut Open each August, the stadium’s sat empty for most of the year, but now offices and locker rooms will be open at the arena all year, Bohr explained.
The bleachers in that section are rarely used anyway, but the seats will still be stored “for possible later use,” as Smith explained to the commissioners. In particular, if performers who start booking out the venue want to offer a side view of the stage — usually, a rarity — they could remove the array’s stainless-steel fasteners and put the seats back, he said.
Before the vote, commissioners applauded the addition of more green infrastructure in the Elm City. Leslie Radcliffe, who has solar panels herself, said the project would save money. “It’s usually less than your monthly utility bill. And it’s fixed. So when [United Illuminating’s rates] go up, yours does not,” she said. “It’s a win-win. It’s green.”
Christopher Peak Photot
Architect Richard Wies, facility manager Lucas Bohr and solar expert Brendan Smith present their plans to commissioners.