MANCHESTER, Tenn. — January 9, 2013 —Celebrating its 12th year as a leader in environmentally friendly concert events, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival continues to spearhead aggressive new initiatives that raise the bar in shrinking the carbon footprint of one of the largest, most popular festivals in the country. In a groundbreaking effort to actively reduce its energy consumption, Bonnaroo organizers and representatives from Knoxville, Tenn.-based Sustainable Future and Vermont-based Encore Redevelopment announced today the completed construction and installation of the country’s first permanent solar array for a music festival. The 50 kW solar photovoltaic, (PV), system will support a notable portion of the festival’s energy needs. Construction of the new solar array is complete, and it is already generating energy in advance of the 2013 festival.
“Running part of Bonnaroo on solar power has long been a goal, as it underscores the commitment of Bonnaroo organizers and our community to the environment,” said festival partner Rich Goodstone from Superfly Presents. “None of this could have been possible without the immense support of the generous and forward-thinking Bonnaroo community. Their contributions have brought this project to fruition.”
The solar project was fully funded by “opt-in” contributions that fans select during the ticket buying process. In effect for the past three years and always focused on sustainable site improvements, past dollars have been used to fund the compost pad, the garden, and last year’s mobile tower of power. In addition, a $1 fee was added to every ticket sold in 2012 to generate guaranteed resources for additional green initiatives onsite. As a result, Bonnaroo fans can take full credit for helping Bonnaroo expand its commitment to environmentally focused projects and programs.
The array system, which was planned by Encore Redevelopment and installed by Sustainable Future, LLC, is comprised of 196 SolarWorld modules (solar panels), microinverters, and related components that have been mounted to the roof of a metal structure in the festival’s backstage area. It will generate more than 61,000 kWh per year, about 20 percent of Bonnaroo’s total electricity needs. In addition, the structure will be lighted by an independently powered solar lighting system. While it will not be visible to patrons, fans will be able to see an educational display in Planet Roo and monitor the power generated on the festival website.
“Sustainable Future is pleased to be helping Bonnaroo with its sustainability initiative by providing a solar system that will generate clean solar power for music lovers for many decades to come,” said David Bolt, company founder. “It’s a pleasure to work with such a progressive group.”
Vermont-based renewable energy development firm Encore Redevelopment outlined the technical, social, and economic value of a solar array for the venue and managed the groundbreaking project from concept to commissioning.
Encore Founder and CEO Chad Farrell said about the endeavor, “We are thrilled to have been part of this exciting project, which will allow for a significant portion of the total annual electrical demand of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival to be supplied by a clean, renewable resource. Encore Redevelopment and other advocates for a clean energy future applaud Bonnaroo’s continuing commitment to sustainability and the festival’s strong voice related to the importance of a cleaner, greener planet.”
As a certified participant in TVA’s Green Power Provider Program, Bonnaroo will sell all of the energy produced by the solar PV system back to the local utility distribution network. Locally, Bonnaroo worked with Duck River Utilities and Tennessee Valley Authority to bring the project to completion.
“As always, Tennessee agencies have been very supportive; we couldn’t make projects like this one a reality without their support and expertise,” said Laura Sohn, Bonnaroo’s sustainability coordinator.
Since its inception in 2002, Bonnaroo has pioneered sustainability initiatives and outreach programs to reduce its impact on the earth and encourage fans to embrace eco-conscious lifestyles throughout the year. The festival is the only six-time U.S. recipient of “A Greener Festival” award, the international standard for environmentally efficient music festivals, and continues to look for new ways to improve year to year. Just some of Bonnaroo’s impressive environmental programs include:
- For the second year, Bonnaroo will partner with Zimride to offer a rideshare program for patrons. An online carpooling service, Zimride shares Bonnaroo’s sense of community building while reducing the carbon footprint by lessening the number of cars that travel to the festival. Last year, more than 650 patrons enjoyed rideshare services.
- Eco-Products will continue its Bonnaroo partnership: In the last five years, festival patrons, staff, and artists have been eating off the company’s totally compostable products. Since that time, Clean Vibes, Bonnaroo’s onsite recycling and composting partner, has sent more than 296,000 pounds of Eco-Products to its compost pile. Composting all of its cutlery and serving ware is one of Bonnaroo’s proudest accomplishments.
- Bonnaroo’s aggressive recycling and composting program has diverted more than three million pounds of festival waste from landfills since 2002. In addition, patrons have turned in more than 1 million cups, cans and bottles to the Clean Vibes Trading Post since it opened in 2008.
“We work very hard every year to not only create new initiatives that lessen our impact, but also to educate and encourage our fans to take these ideas home with them,” explained Goodstone. “It’s gratifying to add the solar array, and we remain committed to joining forces with our community to expand these kinds of projects each year.”
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About Sustainable Future, LLC, www.sustainablefuture.biz
The Sustainable Future team has over 40 years experience in the solar industry. Sustainable Future has been servicing the solar and sustainability needs of residential and commercial clients with solutions ranging from 1kW off-grid systems designed for rural cabins to large-scale 200kW on the roofs of commercial businesses. Our in-house team of installers has 20+ years of electrical, construction, and installation experience; our lead designer in this project boasts NCARB, LEED AP, and NABCEO certification; and our account manager has serviced solar accounts throughout the United States.
About SolarWorld
SolarWorld, the largest U.S. solar manufacturer for more than 35 years, produces high-performance solar panels backed by the market’s strongest product and performance protections and by a pioneering American workforce. Vertically integrated from silicon as a raw material to complete turn-key systems, SolarWorld manufactures silicon crystal, wafers, cells and modules in the United States and offers complete solar-power solutions to all types of customers. SolarWorld’s engineering, experience and processes provide the best product power performance and warranty in the industry.
About Encore Redevelopment
Rethink. Restore. Renew. Encore Redevelopment is a Burlington, Vermont-based project development company with a focus on 21st century solutions for underutilized property and new sources of community scale alternative energy. Our philosophy is to create harmony between the natural and built environments that fosters sustainable growth and community benefit by creating opportunities for the redevelopment of underutilized property and the generation of clean, renewable sources of electricity. Founded in 2007, Encore Redevelopment represents environmental leadership and strives to foster job creation and revenue generation in the rapidly developing restoration and green energy economies through project development, capitalization and state of the art project management activities. www.encoreredevelopment.com
