The World of Sports: The U.S. can learn from Qatar’s air circulation system
The 2022 World Cup is starting to heat up, and not just because the list of 32 qualifying countries has been finalized. What is traditionally a summer tournament will instead take place in November, as the host country Qatar is home to some particularly hot summers.
FIFA deemed it unsafe to expose players and fans to the extreme summer temperatures, which can reach over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. However, even in November, World Cup attendees will still need to find ways to beat the heat.
Fortunately for fútbol fans, all of Qatar’s eight swanky stadiums have been configured to keep things cool. Each stadium is equipped with solar-powered air circulation technology that will keep the buildings at a constant 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
It’s no spring day in Los Angeles, but it is certainly better than the blistering heat outside. The average high -temperature in Qatar is around 85 degrees Fahrenheit in November.
Saud Abdulaziz Abdul-Ghani, a professor of mechanical engineering at Qatar University, who led the team that developed the technology required to cool the stadium with clean energy, wants other countries and corporations to follow suit in powering stadium air conditioning systems using eco-friendly methods. There is no patent on the technology, and Abdul-Ghani hopes the World Cup will highlight both the importance and feasibility of using green energy.
The system works by cooling outside air with solar-powered air conditioning fans. The air enters the stadiums through grills in the stands and through large nozzles on the field, as players require cooler air. The air is circulated back from the inside of the stadium, re-cooled and filtered and then pushed back into the stadium.
The solar farm, located west of Doha, Qatar’s capital city, cost roughly $462 million to construct and operate. The farm is home to over two million bifacial solar modules, which are twice as efficient as traditional solar panels because both sides of the panel absorb solar energy.
Qatar’s large investment in clean energy is not just for the sake of keeping soccer fans comfortable. The 10- square- kilometer solar farm has the capacity to meet 10% of the country’s energy demands. It will also reduce the carbon emissions of Qatar by 26 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in its lifetime.
The investment Qatar made in solar energy will not only make the World Cup a more enjoyable experience for fans but also serves as a blueprint for what other countries could be doing to embrace sustainable energy and push toward reducing carbon emissions.
About 12.6% of the total United States’ energy consumption came from renewable energy sources in 2020. Not bad, but the U.S. can certainly do better. Or maybe I should say, the U.S. must do better.
Stop me if you’ve heard this seemingly alarmist but actually accurate remark before, but the effects of greenhouse gas emissions are already rearing their ugly heads on a global scale. It has become quite clear that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced on an international level.
The U.S. has a gross domestic product of $20.94 trillion. Qatar, while it is significantly less populated and has one of the richest economies in the world, has a GDP of $146.4 billion.
Even when considering the GDP per capita of each country, the U.S. still has a higher average. I apologize for all of the math, but I guess what I am trying to say is that there is so much room for improvement in climate affairs and so much money to invest in climate change solutions.
Whether it’s building more solar farms or financing hydroelectricity projects, the U.S. must go all in on renewable energy sources, because it is an investment that, if done correctly, will pay off.
An attempt by the Biden administration to inch closer to net-zero carbon emissions was shot down in a purely political move from West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. The U.S. needs a radical restructuring of its climate action plan and unfortunately, the bureaucracy of the federal government has proven time and again to be too slow to act.
Maybe when Manchin is watching the World Cup this November, he will be inspired to change his mind.
Patrick Warren is a junior exploring the relationship between sports and the climate. His column “The World of Sports” runs every other Wednesday.