Electric Picnic’s main stage to be powered by renewables

Ireland’s Electric Picnic has announced that this year the main stage of the festival will be connected to the grid and powered by renewable energy.

This marks the first time a festival of its kind in the UK and Ireland will install mains power to reduce its carbon footprint.

The grid power will ultimately reduce carbon emissions associated with powering the main stage of the festival in 2024 and reduce the need to use temporary generators.

The festival’s promoter Festival Republic (FR) will submit a planning application for a substation and if successful, work will begin later this year.

Electric Picnic’s bid for a greener festival reinforces the commitment of FR’s Green Nation Charter to power its festivals with 100% renewable power by 2030.

This reinforces the commitment of FR’s Green Nation Charter to power its festivals with 100% renewable power by 2030

“The installation of our first grid connection is a key contributor to our goal of reducing carbon emissions associated with the festival by 50% by 2030 in line with our Green Nation Charter,” says Melvin Benn, managing director Festival Republic.

“I hope that by leading the way and sharing what we have learned, festival goers can have an amazing time at Electric Picnic safe in the knowledge that we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact on the only planet we have got.”

Thomas Cosby, Stradbally Hall, adds: “This Festival Republic initiative ties in well with the estate’s programme towards carbon neutrality; It complements our existing renewable energy installations, including biomass, hydroelectric, solar and sustainable forestry management.”

Electric Picnic has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. The festival returns this year between 16–18 August and while the lineup is yet to be announced, tickets have already sold out.

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