Burning fossil fuels for energy has added more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere than the planet can remove and store, which has caused global average temperatures to rise. Fossil fuels also pollute air, soil and water – effecting weather and human health in the process. Renewable energy from sun, wind, water and biomass can lead to safe air, clean water and lower health care bills.
The choices we make with powering the festival have far reaching impacts, whilst sending a message to our community and partners on the future we want to call in through our work and creativity. It is just one weekend, but it is so much more than a party – it’s our chance to inspire others.
Fossil-fuel free
Shambala is powered by 100% renewable energy. We use a mix of vegetable oil generators, solar, hybrid units, batteries and a small amoutn of grid energy on a renewable, green tariff. We have also reduced our energy requirements by moving to energy efficient equipment and LED lighting. In 2018 we introduced energy tariffs for our cafes and food traders to show them how much power they use and to encourage energy efficiency. All in all, using vegetable oils doesn’t cost more than using diesel, especially when combined with energy efficiency measures!
Improvements
We geeked out on power and have consistently reduced fuel dependency and improved on efficiency each year. The ambition to be 100% renewable was achieved in 2014 by using biofuel and solar hybrid systems across the site. Onsite biodiesel consumption was reduced by 20% from 2013 to 2014 by using hybrid systems, and there was a 380% kWh increase of renewable energy, which included stages run completely on solar and pedal power.
To assist in reducing the over-specification of generators, Shambala works with their power supplier to gather the power requirements of all end-users. It is also built into our contracts that fuel savings are expected year-on-year, with a fixed fee on biofuel costs to create an incentive for the contractors to reduce usage wherever possible. We conduct detailed energy monitoring throughout the festival, on a generator-by-generator basis, to discover future efficiency gains.
To give you a sense of the planning, in 2015 our set-up included 22 bio-diesel generators, the full range of Firefly’s Cygnus Hybrid Power, 35 portable solar fold-arrays and 10 power packs. All of the site lighting was LED, 12km of festoon lighting and 105 LED Floods; and the tower lights were all HPG.
The future…
Our ambition is to reduce our use of sustainable biofuels by a third, in favour of solar, battery and grid connections using green tariffs. The festival industry average for fuel consumption per person per day is currently 0.5 litres. Shambala’s is currently 0.147 litres – but we’re aiming to get this down to 0.1 litres.