TV 2 has Highlight the high electricity prices Which affects popular sports. even with With electricity subsidized by the state, many clubs are struggling to find the money available to pay their huge electricity bills It is sent monthly.
The result could be that Many clubs have to shut down parts of their activitieshundreds of children and Young people lose their valuable free time And the opportunity for structured training with the sport they love the most.
That’s out of luck, really, that prices are what they are now. We get a huge impact from it.
This is not the case in Varhaug IL. Breddeklubben på Jæren, which was founded in 1932 and has 1,800 members doing everything from badminton, soccer, cycling and handball to esports, took steps to cut costs even before the electricity crisis.
Last summer, Varhaug IL decided to purchase and install solar panels at the club’s gym. On Tuesday, September 6, about one year later, the solar system was installed and operating at full capacity. 400 panels now cover the roof of the Jæren Sparebank Arena.
This had an immediate impact on the electricity costs of operating the plant.
– On the first day with the solar cells, we saved 2,400 NOK at an average rate of 4.11 Kr per kilowatt-hour, Jan Christian Vasous, General Manager at Varhaug IL told TV 2 – He stressed that the sun shone during the first day with the solar cells on the roof .
– It was a good day for the solar cells and our first day of full production. We are now very excited to see how this develops further. Because it was a very good day and a good start to it, Vasos continues – equally satisfied.
The electricity produced by the solar panels can be used at the company’s own facility, but it can also be sold on the open market at a variable spot price and a good income guarantee for the Broadside Club.
– But it is clear that with days of bad weather and rain, the profits will not be great, as he recalls.
– Maximum luck, really
The cost of purchasing and installing solar panels on the roof of the Varhaug Sports Hall ended up at NOK 1.4 million. Of this amount, Jæren Sparebank covered 400,000 NOK from the bank’s foundation.
– In total, we expect the solar panels to produce 160,000 kWh per year. We actually decided last year that we wanted solar cells, because we’re green in the heart and green in the suit. We wanted to be a little different and a little wilder, and we wanted to be the sports team that’s also environmentally responsible, Vasos explains.
When the club decided to buy the solar panels last summer, they had no idea that electricity prices would soar to sky-high levels today.
Thus, the Broadside Club got the maximum benefit from the investment from day one.
– That’s the maximum, really, that prices are the same now. We get a huge impact from it. But to be honest, this is not what I hope to be in the future. Because there are many sports teams that do not have solar cells installed and cannot get past these times. For sports teams across Norway and the business community, I hope the prices will come down, says the VIL captain.
HAPPY: Jan Christian Vasos at Varhaug IL proudly shows off the rooftop solar panels of the gym, which were fully operational for the first time on Tuesday, September 6. I made an instant profit of NOK 2,400 on the first day of full operation. Photo: Bjarte Fossfjell/TV 2
Originally, Varhaug IL planned to pay off the 1.4 million NOK investment for the solar panel within eight years. Today’s crazy electricity prices have changed those plans now.
From eight years to two or three years
With an average price of, say, around four NOK, as has been the case in southern Norway in recent months, Varhaug IL would have earned NOK 640,000 on electricity costs after the solar panel was already installed in the first year.
– When we calculated this, we thought the price of one krone per kilowatt-hour. When we invested 1.4 million NOK, that meant that 160,000 hours a year would give us NOK 160,000, says Vasos, and continues:
These solar panels have 25-30 years warranty and even longer lifespan. Initially, we envisioned that the investment would be paid off within eight years. But the price of electricity was not what it is now. He points out that we may be paid now in two or three years already.
However, Jean-Christian Vasos reiterates that he hopes for lower electricity prices.
We do not want electricity prices to rise to such an extent. It wasn’t the financial motives that were primarily on our mind when we decided to build the solar panels. But based on what we’ve seen in the short time so far, it turns out it was a reasonable investment, he concludes.
Wise investment: Here solar panels have been installed on the roof of a sports hall in Varhaug IL. The price came to 1.4 million NOK, but it is indeed a wise investment. Photo: Bjarte Fossfjell/TV 2
I think the strength support is still necessary
Varhaug Sports Club has applied for NOK 105,000 for electricity subsidies for the last quarter. Vasos stresses that the club still needs electric support from the state, even after the installation of solar panels.
In all, the club uses 500,000 kWh per year to power the facility, while solar panels produce 160,000 kWh per year.
– I think electricity support is very necessary for many sports teams. It’s not just a matter of building a rooftop solar panel in one fell swoop. It is reported that there is a long wait.
– In Varhaug we had approximately NOK 300,000 in annual utility electricity costs in 2020. In 2021 this increased to NOK 500,000, and this year we will reach the million mark, even after the electricity subsidy that was in place. Rooftop solar cells obviously help us with our daily operations, but for us, energy support is still essential, he says firmly.
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