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We live in a world of diminishing natural resources. It doesn’t really matter what the resource is - the fact that we as humans are consumers means that, almost by definition, there are fewer natural things to consume now than there were 100 years ago, because many natural resources are of course not renewable.
It’s in that spirit that many businesses, big and small, are trying to find ways to conserve said resources. Recycling, responsible sourcing, more intelligent supply chain decisions - these are all a part of this effort. Companies also try to limit their power consumption as much as possible; lights get put on motion sensors and timers, HVAC systems are scheduled to not run when nobody is at work, etc.
Sometimes, businesses go even further in that effort, as Arsenal announced today. Arsenal have basically filled up the basement of the Emirates (side note: today I learned the Emirates has a basement!) with battery storage that will, if needed, power the stadium for an entire match.
As hilarious as it is to imagine a massive set of basement rooms lined with, like, daisy-chained car batteries or USB battery packs, it’s a lot more industrial than that - while the ones that live underground may be a touch smaller, they essentially look like the white things in this photo. Inside each of those boxcar-looking things is essentially that giant pile of smaller batteries - I’m not an electrical engineer, but I have worked for power companies and for a major power generator/reseller, and the amount of technology and complexity that goes into these things is kinda mindblowing.
The great thing about these setups, too, is that Arsenal can sort of game the system with it - they can buy power from the grid when it’s cheap, store it, and use it when grid power is more expensive. Any excess power can also be sold back to the grid, which won’t be a huge profit driver for Arsenal, but also isn’t nothing.
Arsenal have long said they want to be a sustainable club, and only spend what they earn. It’s good to see that this drive to be sustainable is extending to actual resource sustainability as well.