Formally the stadium was reopened in late 2012, but now a second opening took place, one of the solar power plant placed atop the stadium. From now on the arena will supply energy to the municipal power grid.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by the governor of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, Antonio Anastasia, the president of Brazilian utility firm CEMIG, Djalmo Bastos de Morais, along with the state secretary of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz.

The stadium, located in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, has been equipped with a 1.4MW solar array on its rooftop. Electricity generated by the plant will be fed into the grid and not directly consumed by the stadium.

The solar project required a total investment of €12.5 million (US$16.1 million), of which €10 million was provided as a loan from German bank Kfw while CEMIG provided the remaining €2.5 million.