Will solar energy technology accelerate due to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar? Possibly. Qatar, the country with the highest per capital income in the world, may even become more rich in the long run if its proposed clean energy technology to keep soccer fans cool during 120 degree heat works as well as planned.

Read about one British design firm that most likely will have a leading role in planning facilities for the 2022 extravaganza. One point that won FIFA organizers over was the Showcase Stadium (pictured), a 500 seat by 500 seat test site that will serve as a prototype for the 10 sporting venues that Qatar promises for the event--and one will be ready by 2015:

During the FIFA visit, with an outside temperature of 44 degrees only two hours earlier, the temperature on the pitch was recorded as 23 degree. The venues’ solar panels operate year-round, continuously exporting electricity to the national grid. On a match day, the higher electrical demand will bring electricity back into the facility from the national grid. This electricity, together with generators using biofuels, provide power for both technical and general power, so the events are assured power during the World Cup.

Read more here.

About The Author

Leon Kaye

Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division, GGP Media. Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event. His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). He writes for San Francisco-based Triple Pundit, Inhabitat and now The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's Architect Magazine. Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.