West Ham United’s London Stadium could be set to become one of the worlds greenest sports and concert venues as a vast ‘solar membrane’ covering the roof of London’s former Olympic has been granted planning permission and will start construction imminently, according to a report from the Evening Standard. 

The London Stadium’s plans to add a web of solar panels to their venue was first revelated by the Evening Standard in 2023. London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s office revealed it had contributed £45,000 towards a feasibility study and business case for the project. The scheme, put forward by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), went on to receive a loan from the mayor’s Green Finance Fund, and was granted planning permission last month on September 24.

London’s deputy mayor for environment and energy, Mete Coban, said: “These solar panels are a game changer for the London Stadium, turning it into one of the world’s greenest sports and concert venues and hugely reducing its energy use and running costs. The mayor’s Green Finance Fund offers exciting opportunities to help public sector bodies lower their carbon footprint and become more sustainable, and I encourage organisations to get involved as the next round of funding opens and we continue to build a greener, fairer London for everyone.”

The installation will include 6,500 square meters of solar panels, this will enable the stadium to save more than 200 tonnes of carbon emissions a year and to generate enough energy to power all the venue’s major events. The LLDC estimated last year that the project will drive savings for the stadium of up to £350,000 annually.