Experimenting with smart grids and new solutions
The festival is powered by 100% renewable energy, but is still seeking to increase energy efficiency and reduce dependency on biofuels. They aim to phase out use of biofuels in the shortest possible timeframe, using instead what they hope will be the UK’s first integrated power system for festivals. They believe in reducing dependency on liquid fuels and encouraging the development of an alternative fuel economy. In 2012, Sunrise Festival used a mix of Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO), solar power, wind power and pedal power. As technology gets better and larger amounts of energy can be produced from sources such as solar and wind the festival plans to make use of them even more. This alternative energy provision is assured by preferentially booking traders and production crew who run their equipment off solar, wind or pedal power. Sunrise Festival also continues to raise money for environmental projects and invest in renewable energy technologies.
For the 2013 festival they planned to bring together high-spec battery technology with more traditional waste vegetable oil generators and a combination of solar and wind power, to create a site-wide power system that is energy efficient and low impact. This is the type of innovative power provision at festivals that shows their true commitment to sustainability and the creation of “Another World”.
As well as improving this system, they carry out thorough monitoring of the power systems onsite to recognize where power may be being wasted. This monitoring also ensures the information needed to improve further in the future was being gathered. Revelations about overspeccing of equipment and inefficiency from individual venues, traders and other users from the 2012 power surveys gave a focus for improvements for the 2013 event.