Making festival power greener
Client: EVENTelec
Location: Byron Bay, NSW, Australia
Sectors: Events
The Challenge
Low emission festival power
EVENTelect provides electrical infrastructure to over 100 major Australian events every year.
The three-day Falls Festival over New Year 2022 featured acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Lil Nas X, and kids’ favourite The Wiggles.
Situated in the North Byron Parklands it needed a unique solution as it has no access to mains power and is spread over a wide area.
The festival organisers also wanted to demonstrate their environmental credentials so EVENTelect asked Aggreko to provide all the power needed whilst reducing the amount of diesel fuel used and generator noise created.
The three-day Falls Festival over New Year 2022 featured acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Lil Nas X, and kids’ favourite The Wiggles.
Situated in the North Byron Parklands it needed a unique solution as it has no access to mains power and is spread over a wide area.
The festival organisers also wanted to demonstrate their environmental credentials so EVENTelect asked Aggreko to provide all the power needed whilst reducing the amount of diesel fuel used and generator noise created.
Fact File Heading
CO2 saved
30.6tonnes
Range of Generators
20 - 700kVA
Diesel generator runtime
43%
The solution
Hybrid power with diesel, battery, and solar
Due to the limitations of the site, Aggreko needed to use multiple smaller generators to provide all the necessary power.
We installed 60 generators ranging from 20kVA to 700kVA to ensure coverage across the site for the 26 days leading up to and during the festival.
Aggreko also installed a hybrid system consisting of a 200kVA diesel generator paired with a 90kVA battery storage unit and a 60 kVA diesel generator paired with a 45kVA battery unit and a 5kW solar array.
We installed 60 generators ranging from 20kVA to 700kVA to ensure coverage across the site for the 26 days leading up to and during the festival.
Aggreko also installed a hybrid system consisting of a 200kVA diesel generator paired with a 90kVA battery storage unit and a 60 kVA diesel generator paired with a 45kVA battery unit and a 5kW solar array.
The Impact
Reliable power, reduced fuel use and emissions
The wide range of generators across the site ensured that power was always available wherever and whenever it was needed.
The hybrid system allowed the festival to significantly reduce its carbon footprint; thanks to the batteries and solar array, the 200kVA generator was running for just 36% of the time and the 60kVA generator was running for just 64% of the time.
This meant only 8,552 litres of diesel was used - less than half compared to if the generators had been running throughout - leading to total CO2 savings of 30.6 tonnes.
The hybrid system allowed the festival to significantly reduce its carbon footprint; thanks to the batteries and solar array, the 200kVA generator was running for just 36% of the time and the 60kVA generator was running for just 64% of the time.
This meant only 8,552 litres of diesel was used - less than half compared to if the generators had been running throughout - leading to total CO2 savings of 30.6 tonnes.