Since its inception in 2007, the Way Out West music festival has been consciously working on sustainability with its organizers and suppliers. This year, for the first time, they are trying to use energy storage system in hybrid operation, to reduce both their carbon emissions and noise levels.
Way Out West, first organized in 2007, has a strong focus on environmental and sustainability issues. In 2024, the festival will be held over three days in Gothenburg and had a record audience of over 70,000 visitors. Right from the start, the festival was environmentally certified by the City of Gothenburg, and has since continued to set high standards for both organizers and suppliers to implement sustainable solutions.
Since the 1980s, KåBe Power AB has been a leading player in the manufacture and rental of power solutions and generator rental. With strong ties to the event industry, the company has supplied power to many of Sweden's largest festivals and events. Therefore, it was no surprise that KåBe Power was given the main responsibility for the power supply at the Way Out West festival.
Hybrid solution for the Dungen stage
In line with the festival's sustainability goals, KåBe Power tested a hybrid solution for the power supply of the Dungen stage. Michael Kyrk, co-owner of KåBe Power, is an advocate of innovation and actively works to test new solutions to reduce emissions. This also goes hand in hand with the company's goal of lowering fuel costs. The solution for the Dungen stage at Way Out West, is a combination of Atlas Copco's ZBC 250-575 energy storage system coupled to KåBe Power's own 100 kVA generator, which enabled hybrid operation throughout the festival. During the three days of the festival, the hybrid solution not only provided continuous power to all DJs on the Dungen stage, but also to a nearby restaurant, refrigerated container and bar.
Energy storage with generator in hybrid operation park area
Energy storage ZBC 250-575
Fuel-efficient operation without the need for supervision
The energy storage system and the generator are synchronized to enable automated operation. When the batteries in the energy storage need to be charged, the generator automatically starts and takes over the power supply. When the batteries are fully charged, the generator is switched off and the energy storage resumes power supply, without any manual intervention. This process not only reduces the daily noise level that is often a major factor at concerts, but also significantly reduces CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.
With this solution saved a full 48 hours of generator running time, so this is an exciting test phase! We want to explore the technology further and see how we can use it to develop the energy solutions of the future.
KåBe Power AB in brief:
- Established: 1980s
- Number of employees: 7
- Business: Manufactures and rents out generator sets and power solutions.
SMT Sweden, distributor of energy storage to KåBe Power AB, in brief:
- Established: 1992
- Number of employees: 13
- Business: Sells and rents out machines
