Joe GallopGlobal Citizen Festival (cap. 60,000) in Central Park will power its main stage with a SmartGrid battery system developed by Netherlands-based cleantech startup Showpower, in partnership with CES Power, replacing traditional diesel generators to achieve significant fuel and emissions savings.
Showpower’s SmartGrid system, which has been successfully tested on Coldplay’s current world tour, uses repurposed BMW i3 electric vehicle batteries. It can store and deploy energy from various sources, including solar and wind, while powering all stage production needs.
The Global Citizen Festival battery-powered stage will deploy over 1.680 MWh of battery storage capacity, enabling substantial fuel and emissions savings and minimising any required run time of generators.
Global Citizen is collaborating with Equitable Earth to promote the shift away from diesel generators at major festivals. The event, taking place on 28 September as part of Climate Week NYC and organised by Global Poverty Project, will feature a 2024 lineup including Post Malone, Doja Cat, and Jelly Roll, with Hugh Jackman as host and appearances by Chris Martin and Dr. Jane Goodall.
Showpower Global B.V. CEO Paul Schurink said, “During the last four years, Showpower’s collaboration with Coldplay has allowed us to continually trial the SmartGrid battery system and test our industry-first proof of concept in a highly pressured live environment across multiple international stadium locations. And by doing so, we can now guarantee a 100% reliable and sustainable power solution for global touring artists, promoters and event owners who want to substantially reduce their emissions.”
Global Citizen vice president of global events and experiences and longtime festival producer, David Beame, said, “Batteries aren’t just for cars anymore — they can power a 60,000-person music festival, too. We hope many other festivals will make use of this important innovation to reduce their carbon emissions.”