Glastonbury rocks to success with
Aggreko power
Aggreko, the global leader in temporary power and temperature
control solutions, has provided more than 27 megawatts of power at
this year’s Glastonbury Festival.
The internationally renowned festival, which first took place in
1970, and now has more than 177,000 visitors, is made possible by a
small army of highly experienced and skilled people. Aggreko
placed four project managers at the festival, who between them have
experience of some of the world's largest and most prestigious
events, including the Ryder Cup, the Open Golf Championship and the
Olympic Games.
To cope with the huge temporary power demands of Glastonbury
2009, Aggreko supplied more than 230 generators for 750 traders who
were on-site for the duration of the event. Provision on this
scale required precise organisation. The Aggreko team began setting
up the power supply infrastructure more than a month before the
opening of the festival on June 24th. Seventy Aggreko
technicians were involved in the run-up to the event, creating
their own “village” within the site, with the team growing to more
than 90 at its peak.
To meet the festival's request for the use of renewable energy,
Aggreko provided bio-diesel generators, which required more than
60,000 litres of waste vegetable oil (WVO) fuel, to run throughout
the event. This year Aggreko also laid 24km of festoon
lighting with time clocks to reduce the power requirement during
the day. Areas powered by Aggreko included the broadcast compound
for the BBC, the market areas, the medical centre, the police
compound, the security compound and the corporate hospitality
centres. With the experience of previous years, the Aggreko team
was well prepared for any weather conditions and 4 x 4 tankers were
on standby to ensure a secure fuel supply.
“The pressure for 100 per cent performance at an event such as
Glastonbury, with the eyes of the world watching, is immense. The
unpredictable weather puts even more pressure than usual upon us,”
said David Taylor, Aggreko’s Event and Electrical Services Manager.
“Planning and the infrastructure we built in the month prior to the
event, were crucial to the success of the project. The
requirements of our hundreds of customers vary widely, from small
traders to large broadcast providers. The festival just gets bigger
and better every year and the Aggreko team is proud to be a part of
its success.”