Sustainable Energy Harvesting Technology for Music Festivals.

The push for music festivals to be more sustainable continues particularly in Europe, North America and Australia. Festivals have traditionally been heavy consumers of energy often leaving a significant carbon footprint. Can new technology provide possible solutions for festivals to become more sustainable through increased energy harvesting?

Festival organisers are continuously looking for more inventive ways to exploit technological developments to help their events become more sustainable. Most music festivals are power hungry previously relying on diesel generators, but many are now transitioning to greener energy sources. What developments are taking place that let organisers harvest more sustainable energy sources to power their events.

Music Festival Energy Consumption.
With a medium sized festival attracting tens of thousands of festival-goers an event can be comparable to needing enough energy to power (several Megawatts) a small town. Organisers face challenges meeting their power requirements, especially for stage amplification along with the ever-increasing use of immersive and complex audio-visual shows. The simplistic solar and wind powered generators have so far proved inadequate to power a large stage set up but new technology is helping to address this. Traditional diesel generators were inherently inefficient often running at 20% load, but smart grids and hybrid battery systems have reduced waste by 40% further helped by the replacement of diesel fuel with Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil.

Sustainability Credentials and Initiatives.
Many festival organisers publish their sustainability objectives along with achievements each year, but they are coming under increased scrutiny from festival-goers and regulators who keep demanding more. Initiatives like ‘A greener Future’ (AGF) provide certification to organisers of sustainable events and is the gold standard for music festivals. Other certifications available include the ISO 20121 which demonstrates that an organising entity has implemented management systems to tackle sustainability. An alternative initiative gaining traction is the ‘Green Deal Circular Festivals’ (GDCF) which is a reporting framework for organisers to submit data with the aim of being fully circular and climate neutral.

Harvesting Energy.
Traditional generators are becoming more efficient with the use of hybrid systems linked to battery storage systems (BESS) which use repurposed EV car batteries to store harvested energy. These systems can also store and use harvested energy form alternative power sources being used throughout a site. Whilst harvested energy from alternative energy sources can be used to power low watt site infrastructure the main stage set up still requires substantial power. Many organisers are switching to green hydrogen generators which are silent with a water-vapour-only exhaust.

Kinetic Options.
The kinetic energy harvesting technology has advanced sufficiently in recent years for the harvesting to be a viable source of energy for festival organisers. A Hybrid Piezo-Solar Tile can be placed in high foot traffic zones and dancefloors. These tiles capture mechanical energy form dancing and walking through an internal electromagnetic and piezoelectric module. The design also makes it possible to generate solar energy during daylight hours through a semi-translucent top layer.

Soft Fabric Solar Options.
New materials are now available in the manufacture of tents and marquees that use soft fabric coverings to protect occupants from the elements. Technological advancements have seen the arrival of Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) solar cells which are woven directly into fabrics. These flexible solar fabrics can harvest energy from sunlight and be harvested for local use (power sockets) or be fed back into the festival site’s power grid. Aside from tents the fabric can also be used for stage skins and other shade structures throughout a site.

Bio-Energy Options.
Although the Microbial Fuel Cell has been around for a few years it is becoming a standard feature on many music festival sites. Microbial fuel cells house bacteria that "eat" organic waste (urine) to generate electricity used to power site-wide lighting and digital signage for example. Other initiatives in bio energy harvesting are the use of circular composting toilets linked to on-site anaerobic digesters. The methane produced is captured and can be used as cooking fuel by food and beverage vendors.

For festival organisers planning their next event using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by GymTraining via Pixabay

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