FORWARDS retuned to Clifton Downs, Bristol, at the weekend, powered by clean, green energy thanks to the West of England Clean Power Pilot.

This initiative is a collaborative partnership between the West of England Mayor, the UN affiliated ACT1.5 project, multiple clean power providers, Team Love (FORWARDS and Love Saves the Day) and Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol.

Supported by Bristol City Council and Arts Council England, the pilot has guaranteed clean power to major festivals and productions this summer, including Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, Forest Live at Westonbirt Arboretum, and Love Saves the Day.

The pilot aims to create a blueprint for commercially viable, sustainable production and events and the ambition is to scale the model in 2027, extending its benefits across multiple sectors and paving the way for adoption elsewhere in the UK and internationally.

FORWARDS festival has built a reputation over the past five years as one of the UK’s most forward-thinking festivals. Produced by Team Love, the festival kickstarted a new breed of inner-city music festivals by committing to positive change through climate and social initiatives and providing a platform for urgent-discussions, side by side with an epic international music line up.

In addition to FORWARDS, other festivals such as Bristol Harbour Festival and Severn Fest have made use of bespoke renewable facilities at the Bottle Yard Studios to power their work on location, including a guaranteed fleet of batteries and a newly built dedicated renewable energy charging hub.

Both the Lorde performance on August 28, a special one off concert for FORWARDS Presents, and FORWARDS Festival across the bank holiday weekend benefitted from power decarbonisation via the use of pioneering Green Hydrogen technology (GeoPura) and a fleet of scalable battery units provided by Greener Power Solutions, Zenobe and Instagrid.

REM Events’ Ben Hardy, executive director of Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, said of the pilot: “Each year, we create a temporary playground in Ashton Court Estate, welcoming around 300,000 visitors alongside more than 120 hot air balloons, pilots and crew. For three days, we need to power critical operational areas across the site, and this pilot scheme enabled us to run key locations including our hospitality area, Sky Lounge, our balloonist’s area, Flight Deck, and our production area using an innovative clean energy solution.

“The project gave us the opportunity to trial technology that would not normally be available to us and demonstrated clear benefits from both an operational and environmental perspective.

“We are proud to have been part of this pilot and excited by its potential. Initiatives like this can play an important role in helping large-scale events reduce their environmental impact, and it has certainly made us reconsider our approach for future fiestas.”

Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said: “After another exceptionally hot and dry summer, everyone can see how our climate is changing. Here in the West of England, we’ve brought together our brilliant creative industries and clean energy sectors to try to help tackle the climate crisis and clean up our air.

“Our Clean Power Pilot, funded through my Green Energy Fund, has turned off diesel generators and powered up renewably fuelled batteries at live events and screen productions. As we work together with ACT 1.5 and partners across our region and beyond, and build on what we’ve learned, I hope that we can show that a greener future is not just possible but underway.”

Camilla Carson, chief commercial officer at GeoPura, said: “Major events need significant amounts of reliable power, but that shouldn’t come at the expense of the environment, or the air people breathe. The West of England Clean Power Pilot is showing what can be achieved when industry comes together to move away from fossil fuel generation. We’re excited to support Lorde and FORWARDS with clean power generation using our Hydrogen Power Units and green hydrogen, delivering the critical power needed for the main stage with no CO₂, NOx or particulate emissions. It means cleaner air for artists, crews and audiences, with water as the only by-product of generating power. This is proven technology delivering at scale today, ready to support live events, film and TV and many other sectors.”

To find out more about the West of England Clean Power Pilot, read this article on event power.
 

Image: Eljay Briss