Can Dan Snyder haters be mad at the Redskins owner for making money off of doing something good for the environment? Where there’s a will, there’s always a way. For the rest of you — you be the judge.
On Wednesday, the Redskins announced a partnership with NRG Solar to power up FedEx Field using the company’s solar panels. The power will provide some of the electricity needed on gamedays and on non-gamedays will power up the stadium entirely.
So what’s the catch? Well, fans who park in the primo parking spaces in the A1 lot next to FedEx Field, they’ll get covered parking. NRG is installing 8,000 solar panels above 850 spaces in the Platinum A1 Parking Lot directly across from the stadium’s southwest intrance. But covered parking is also a good reason to bump up the cost of renting those spaces too.
Meanwhile, the solar company is getting an NRG-branded entry plaza at Gate A for its troubles. The plaza “will inform fans about renewable energy and showcase clean energy technologies,” a ‘Skins press release says. The plaza will include translucent solar panels, sculptures featuring thin film solar technology and 10 electric vehicle charging stations from NRG’s eVgosm charging network.
Oh, and Snyder gets to save about 15 percent on his electricity bills in the nine-year agreement, according to The Washington Post.
Are fans happy with the tradeoff? Or is this another one of those “it doesn’t help the average fan” things (because, let’s face it, those A1 spaces are expensive).
