One of the world’s largest music festivals with energy storage

Energy storage technology debuted at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, one of the world’s largest music and arts festivals. It helped power the iconic Arcadia stage, among other venues.

Green energy at the festival

The organizers of Glastonbury, a five-day event with 210,000 participants, are committed to using only clean energy. One key element is the Gusty Spinfield wind turbine by Octopus Energy. Much of the power was supplied by generators powered by HVO biofuels, most of which were integrated with energy storage.

To power the Arcadia stage, MSP (Multi Source Power) Technologies provided a 1 MW, 3 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). During the three days of performances, the system delivered stable power for DJ sets by artists such as Fatboy Slim, Hot Chip, and Eric Prydz.

“Ecotricity CEO Dale Vince asked us to build the BESS specifically for the festival. It performed significantly better than traditional generators, and the reduction in carbon emissions was huge. The most important benefit, however, was its quiet operation,” said Simon Patterson, CEO of MSP.

Allye and portable energy storage

Startup Allye partnered with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to deliver portable Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) units that charged Range Rover Defenders used as operational vehicles at the festival. Allye’s devices use repurposed EV batteries and have a capacity of 270 kWh per unit. Jonathan Carrier, co-founder and CEO of Allye, expressed his pride in deploying the technology at Glastonbury, highlighting its versatility and potential.

Coldplay’s Energy Magazine

Coldplay, one of the headliners at Glastonbury, is utilizing its own 1.5 MWh energy storage facility during its tours. Developed in partnership with BMW, this facility enables their concerts to be powered almost entirely by clean, renewable energy.

The use of energy storage at festivals is gaining popularity. Glastonbury this year demonstrated the feasibility of powering large events primarily from renewable sources. MSP Technologies plans to continue this trend, including at festivals like Womad and with acts like Massive Attack.

Source: energy-storage.news