Adelaide winter festival ramps up sustainability efforts with battery power

A hybrid power solution delivered in partnership with Apollo Lighting helped the Illuminate Adelaide winter festival reach its sustainability goals. Combining quiet battery storage with a diesel generator significantly reduced fuel use, carbon emissions, on-site noise, and costs.

The Challenge
Reduce environmental impact and costs of power
The Solution
Quiet battery energy system supported by a generator.
The Impact
Cost savings and low carbon emissions

Client:Apollo Lighting

Location:Adelaide, South Australia

Sectors:Events

The Challenge

Reduce environmental impact and cost of power

Adelaide’s brightest celebration of art, light, music and technology, Illuminate Adelaide, is held annually in July. With a deep commitment to sustainability, the event has a goal of being a carbon neutral event, with a range of initiatives to offset its ecological footprint.

Power is a critical necessity for the outdoor event, and while it has traditionally been supplied from the grid, 2024 required a significant supplementary supply to support Base Camp - the event’s vibrant hub for food, drink and entertainment. Concerned about the use of fossil fuels and the production of carbon emissions over the three-week event, the event organisers were keen to investigate alternative power options, including a hybrid power supply.

Additionally, managing costs was a significant concern. Providing a power solution with the minimum carbon footprint also had to be done in the most cost-effective manner. To achieve these goals, they approached Apollo Lighting, an experienced provider of event power supply and lighting solutions in South Australia. Apollo Lighting, in collaboration with Aggreko, was tasked with providing a sustainable and cost-effective power supply solution for the festival.

90kVABattery Storage Unit

8,214kgOf CO2 saved

125kVADiesel generator

3,065LitresOf fuel saved

1,248LitresOf fuel used

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The Solution

Quiet battery energy storage system supported by a generator

Based on the initial requirements, the project called for a 125kVA diesel generator. Apollo Lighting and Aggreko proposed pairing the diesel generator with a 90kVA battery, which significantly enhanced efficiency of power supply. This combination saved over three tonnes of diesel fuel and eight tonnes of CO2 over three weeks. By using just 30% of the fuel compared to running solely on the generator*, the event organizers successfully met their environmental and financial objectives.

As this was the client’s first project involving a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), Aggreko took the initiative to educate Apollo Lighting’s team on the installation process during their visit to the Adelaide service centre. This training allowed the customer to quickly get up to speed with the hybrid power solution and to save on installation costs.

*The customer initially requested a 125kVA generator. Based on the ARM report from the actual energy demand, this generator would be working with 20% load, consuming 9.5L/h diesel fuel, and would have used over 4 tonnes of fuel over the hire period.

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I look forward to the day where we can power all our events using 100% batteries + renewables and no diesel generators

Lachlan Turner , Technical and Design Manager, Illuminate Adelaide

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The Impact

Festival sustainability goals achieved

The event organisers were pleased that their financial and environmental goals were achieved. Furthermore, the patrons could enjoy delicious food and winter’s best entertainment uninterrupted by the noise of the generators, enhancing the event experience.

While Aggreko has partnered with Apollo Lighting for several years, this was their first joint project for Illuminate Adelaide. This collaboration supported the organiser's environmental initiatives, and the team plans to consider a combination of biofuel and hybrid technology for future events to further improve efficiency and reduce the event's carbon footprint.

This event marked the beginning of a partnership between Aggreko and Apollo Lighting for introducing BESS for short and medium-term events, laying the groundwork for more sustainable power solutions in the future.