Chinese solar equipment to light up Rio 2016 Olympics

A sign featuring the logos for the 2016 summer olympics and the 2016 paralympics (R) is on display at Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in this August 7, 2014 file photo. Rio will host the 2016 Summer Olympics and Para Olympics. [Photo/IC]

RIO DE JANEIRO - Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro of Brazil, where the 2014 World Cup final was held, will be back into the spotlight at Rio 2016 Olympic Games, powered by Chinese solar equipment.

Originally built for the 1950 World Cup Brazil, the Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho, better known as the Maracana, will host the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the soccer matches of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Produced by Chinese solar power company Yingli Solar, the world's largest solar panel manufacturer, and installed in 2014, the 1, 556 solar panels encircling the metal roof of the stadium will continue to power the coming Rio 2016.

COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY

"All the panels have at least 25 years of service life," Jeffrey Barnett, vice president of International Sales at Yingli Green Energy Americas told Xinhua on Sunday.

According to Yingli, the 390 kilowatt (KW) system, which has been providing green power to this iconic stadium since the 2014 World Cup, can reduce 2,560 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

This echoes with Brazil's determination to hold an environment- friendly Olympics and set an example of sustainability.

"We aim to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions and hold a low- carbon Olympics, leaving a green legacy for Brazil," said Tania Braga, the Rio 2016 Committee Head of Sustainability, Accessibility and Legacy.

"Sustainability does not include additional costs ... it helps being more efficient and then it reduces costs," Braga said.

Yingli solar panels' 25-year-warranty means long term generation of clean electricity in returns on one-time investment, said Barnett, which is a vivid footnote to sustainability.

"The success in Maracana project was a fantastic brand building case and a milestone to Yingli's development in Latin America, since we established our first office in this region in Sao Paulo in 2011," said Barnett.

In addition to the Maracana, Yingli also installed one megawatt (MW) solar panels to deliver clean electricity to Arena Pernambuco, in the Western suburbs of the Recife metropolitan area. This project generates 1,500 MWh of electricity every year, enough for 6,000 Brazilians' annual electricity consumption.

In addition to the big projects, Yingli is also promoting solar systems suitable for residential and business buildings, bringing clean energy to people's life, said Barnett, adding that Yingli has expanded its business in more than 20 countries in Latin America during the past years, and Brazil is one of the most important, along with Chile and Mexico. The company will further boost performance in this region in the coming years, by building a larger and stronger team.