Over the last few years, the largest sporting event in the United States has shown some awareness of the enormous draw it makes on energy resources wherever it’s hosted. Yesterday’s 44th Super Bowl, accordingly, was the greenest yet: Florida Power & Light Group’s (NYSE: FPL) subsidiary NextEra Energy supplied the NFL with enough renewable energy credits (RECs) to completely offset the energy usage of not only the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl, but of the preparations leading up to the games in Miami, as well.
NextEra’s energy portfolio (PDF) includes 310 gross megawatts of solar energy and over 7,640 gross MW of wind power. The solar energy in NextEra’s portfolio comes from seven California solar installations. The NFL purchased wind and solar RECs, meaning that you watched the Saints win a partially solar-powered game last night.
The NFL’s efforts to green the Super Bowl got a lot less media attention than one lonely little ad, however. The by-now infamous Audi Green Police commercial is hilarious–and controversial. Some feel the commercial plays to fears that greater environmental regulation could lead to “green policing”, while others champion its willingness to take a stand on the fact that personal behaviors will have to change if we truly want to move towards a clean energy future. Haven’t seen the ad? Take a look:
