Hundreds of thousands of people have already streamed through Swansea Arena in the two years since it opened. In just the first year of the venue’s operation, over 180,000 tickets were sold for live performances, with many thousands more attending conferences, banquets, graduations and creative learning events. And this March – as the venue marks its second anniversary – they’re welcoming onto the stage comedians like Tom Allen, Leigh Francis, Rob Brydon and Romesh Ranganathan, and hosting shows like the Queen Extravaganza produced by John Taylor and Brian May.
But what visitors don’t see as they walk through the doors are the solar panels rooftop which help bring the venue to life by lighting up over 90,000 LED lights promoting the events, all fitted by renewable energy contractor Solarsense. The arena is one of a number of installations Solarsense has managed in Wales and across the UK in recent years. Their MD and founder Stephen Barratt says it is hugely exciting to be involved in these ambitious regeneration projects which have sustainability at their heart. Since his company launched 30 years ago it’s delivered over 15,500 installations across the UK including installations at arts venues like the Bristol Old Vic and Bristol Beacon.
Developed by Swansea Council and run by Ambassador Theatre Group, Swansea arena is part-funded by the Swansea Bay City Deal. It’s based at the city’s new Copr Bay district, which is part of Swansea’s £1bn regeneration programme.
While the programme’s still unfolding, the arena has already created the desired connectivity between city centre and waterfront and given Swansea the opportunity to host far more major cultural and business events.
A Swansea Council spokesperson said they want this to be a test bed for other digital ideas.
Cllr Rob Stewart, Swansea Council Leader, said: “Solarsense navigated the challenge of attaching the panels to the arena roof in a way that wouldn’t potentially penetrate the membrane that helps keep the building watertight.
“We now want this to be a test bed for other digital ideas and, in just one example, a relationship with Swansea University has resulted in the creation of a flexible, rollable solar energy panel for the roof of a cafe building that’s just adjacent to the arena. This is applied to the structure as opposed to being physically attached.”
Swansea Arena was heralded a huge achievement when it opened, not least because it was largely constructed during the pandemic while also being a shining example of sustainable development.
Also developed by Swansea Council and part-funded by the Swansea Bay City Deal, a major new office development at 71/72 The Kingsway will be the next big project to open in the coming months. Aiming to operate at net zero, the development will accommodate space for 600 workers in sectors like tech, digital and creative industries.
Led by the private sector, a scheme in the area of Swansea Port is also making considerable progress. As well as a renewable energy transport hub and floating solar farm, the scheme is proposed to include a hyper-scale data centre, a high-tech battery manufacturing plant, a tidal lagoon and many other features.
