August 21st 2007
Aggreko powers, Glastonbury rocks
Aggreko, the world leader in the provision of temporary power
and temperature control solutions provided over 35 Mega Watts of
power at this years Glastonbury festival which is the equivalent to
that required to power the local city of Bath.
The internationally renowned
festival, which has now been taking place for over 30 years,
commands a small army of extraordinary people involved at every
level of organisation. Aggreko brought together four of its project
managers with global experience in event management, all of whom
have provided temporary power solutions to the largest and most
prestigious events around the world including the British Open Golf
Tournament, the Ryder Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the Winter Olympic
Games and FIFA European Football Championships to name only a
few.
The vibrant temporary town of
Glastonbury festival, which when open has a population of around
177,000, calls for large scale temporary power support. This year
that equated to over 212 generators supplying around 750 customers
on-site throughout the duration of the event. Provision on this
scale required the team to be highly organised and they began
setting up the power supply infrastructure one month before the
actual event took place. In total, up to 40 Aggreko technicians
were involved on-site resulting in a secure temporary community, in
its own right, being created on the run up to the event and for
over 300 workers at the height of the organisation.
The on-site power rental was
managed via an extensive office complex within the festival which
acted as an extension to Aggreko’s UK National Rental Centre. This
ensured that the remainder of Aggreko’s substantial fleet – that
was not ring-fenced for the festival - was available to other
customers who were not participating in the festival.
This year, with the creation of a
new ‘Green Area’ on site, Aggreko met the demand for renewable
energy by the organisers. Within this area B100 Bio-fuel, sourced
from recycled cooking oil, was used in 12 dedicated Bio-diesel
generators. The remaining 200 generators on-site required over
295,000 litres of fuel and used around 100km of electrical
distribution cabling. This year the Event Services team also laid
72km of festoon lighting with time clocks to reduce power
requirement during the day. Areas powered by Aggreko included the
broadcast compound for the BBC and other TV networks, the market
areas, the medical centre, the police compound, the security
compound and the corporate hospitality centres.
Following on from previous years
experiences, the Aggreko team was well aware that the weather
conditions could provide significant challenges. 2007 was no
exception to this, with heavy rain and flooding experienced on-site
just prior to and during the event. Due to the investment in 4 x 4
fuel tankers the Event team were able to ensure that that fuel
logistics were never compromised across the festival site. The
weather conditions also meant that the power supply had to be
continued for an additional 24 hours for around 30% of Aggreko’s
festival customers who were stuck in mud and unable to leave the
site.
“The pressure for 100 per cent
performance at an event such as Glastonbury, with the eyes of the
world watching, is immense. The weather problems put even more
pressure on us,” said Andy Boyd, Aggreko’s Area General Manager for
Event Services. “The planning and infrastructure we built in the
month prior to the event was crucial. Glastonbury is a complex
project and the requirements of our hundreds of customers vary
widely from small traders selling food to the large broadcast
providers. The festival just gets bigger and better every year and
the Aggreko team is proud to be a part of its success.”
David Camm, Marketing Manager Northern Europe, Aggreko UK
Ltd,
4 Station Court, Girton Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11
0EJ
Tel: 01543 501380
Fax: 01543 501381
E-mail: david.camm@aggreko.co.uk
Ruth Palmer, Indigo Pink PR Ltd
01782 791386 or 07740 283838
e-mail: ruth@indigopinkpr.co.uk