Entertainment
Bristol festival tests public-funded clean power initiative for live music and filming
The Forwards festival on Clifton Down is utilizing a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and battery units to drastically reduce emissions from temporary power supplies.
The short version
- Bristol's Forwards festival features stages powered almost entirely by hydrogen fuel cells, renewable-charged batteries, and hydrotreated vegetable oil generators.
- The initiative, known as the clean power pilot scheme, is supported by regional public funding and local political leaders to assist events that cannot connect to the national grid.
- Organizers are working to expand the model to additional mayoral authorities across England following interest from international observers and local media productions.
Key facts
- The Forwards festival on Clifton Down in Bristol is utilizing a clean power pilot (CPP) scheme to power its stages using hydrogen, batteries, and hydrotreated vegetable oil generators.[The Guardian]
- The CPP scheme receives public financial backing from the West of England mayoral combined authority and support from the Bristol city council.[The Guardian]
- GeoPura provided a compact hydrogen power plant for the festival's main stage, which yields pure water as its sole byproduct.[The Guardian]
- The scheme was developed by Act 1.5 and grew out of a previous climate-focused Massive Attack concert held in Bristol.[The Guardian]
- Approximately a dozen local events and television productions, including the Bristol Balloon Fiesta, have used the CPP mobile power infrastructure.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- The timeline and specific regional partners for expanding the clean power pilot scheme outside of the West of England have not been finalized.[The Guardian]