Joe GallopEnergy Management Solutions (Energy MS) successfully deployed an event power solution to run the entire site from a large battery, significantly reducing carbon emissions at Brighton’s On The Beach concert series.
The 19-21 July event, attended by 60,000 people, featured artists such as Bicep, Underworld, The Kooks, Sub Focus, Carl Cox, and The Libertines over two weekends in July.
NW Live, responsible for site planning, management and production, collaborated with Energy MS to implement the green energy solution.
NW Live project lead Joe Nichols said, “Having worked with Gerhard and James at Energy MS to introduce solar panels for the production village last year, we were delighted to work with them again and be the first large event to run all of our site off a giant battery and be able to extend our carbon reduction protocols.”
Energy MS invested in a 275kVA battery with 500 kWh of storage, powering the entire site, including bars, traders, merchandise, production and dressing rooms.
Energy MS director James Gunson said, “The battery unit was connected to a 300kVA generator to charge and support the load during peak times. When the battery discharges to 40% capacity, it automatically starts the generator and recharges the battery in three to four hours, running at 60-70% load.”
Two Stage V generators provided a stable power source for the stage during show days, with the software in the battery ensuring optimal efficiency and a reliable power supply. Initial data showed that generator run time was almost 50% lower than last year, saving approximately 5,000 litres of diesel and over 13,000kg of CO2 emissions.
Energy MS director Gerhard Venter added, “This new technology is currently costly, but having invested for a long-term install, we introduced it at On The Beach to collect data. This helps us understand how big-battery technology can reduce CO2 emissions and save on fuel consumption.”
Last year, Energy MS supplied multiple generators for various needs at On The Beach. This year, the number of generators was reduced from eight to three, thanks to the new battery system. The 500 kWh battery also powered the stage during production build and between show weekends, further reducing generator run time.
In addition to the large battery and new generators, Energy MS powered the production cabins with a solar-powered battery, charged from on-site panels, saving over two weeks of generator emissions.
Energy MS has also expanded its team, welcoming Tim Williams as operations manager, James Watson as warehouse manager, and Gareth Cooper as UK sales and marketing manager.