Glastonbury 2023 to be run entirely on renewable energy

Day 1 of Glastonbury Festival 2023

Organisers at Glastonbury have confirmed that the 2023 installment will be entirely run on renewable energy.

The 2023 edition kicked off today (June 21), with co-organiser Emily Eavis opening the gates to festival-goers earlier this morning. It’s set to see headline slots from Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Elton John, as well as sets from countless other artists.

Now, in a recent update, organisers at the festival have confirmed that this year’s installment will be run entirely using renewable fuel. The update was shared on Twitter earlier this week (June 19) in which the numerous methods the festival has used to make 2023 the greenest yet were detailed.

“We’re very pleased to report that all of Glastonbury 2023’s power needs will be met by renewable energy and renewable fuels, eliminating the need to rely on fossil fuels for power across the Festival,” the post read.

“All generators across the Festival site are run on sustainable, renewable palm oil-free HVO fuel – made from waste cooking oil – helping reduce CO2e emissions,” it continued. “A temporary wind turbine, installed alongside a solar panel and battery system, will produce up to 300kWh of energy per day and power food stalls in Williams Green.”

It also confirmed that utensils and on-site snacks are all delivered in more eco-friendly ways, and that the sale of single-use plastic drink bottles and disposable vapes have been banned.

“All crockery and plates at the Festival are either reusable or compostable – and inedible food waste is turned into fertile compost or sent to anaerobic digestion.

“In a determined drive to reduce non-recyclable waste and promote more sustainable alternatives…all crisps are sold in compostable packaging.”

Organisers also confirmed that the festival has avoided using any fossil fuels since 1984 and will continue to opt for solar, wind and pedal power options on the fields going forward. Find more ways that Glastonbury is opting for a greener route in the full update above.

Glastonbury
Glastonbury CREDIT: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Earlier this month Arcadia announced that it would be running entirely on recycled biofuels for the first time including cooking oil and chip fat.

Arcadia co-founder Bertie Cole explained the initiative in a recent interview, saying: “With the current infrastructure that festivals run on it was clear one of the more efficient ways it could be done is by using a waste fuel to power all those bits of machinery.

“But until quite recently, a lot of the biofuels that were available didn’t really have the provenance of components, like some of them had palm oils etc. that [we] wouldn’t want to encourage the use of, whereas it’s got to the point now where we can proudly put our name to it.”

The increasingly environmentally friendly approach was also highlighted last year when Festival Republic – the music promotor behind Reading & Leeds, Latitude and more – teamed up with Music Declares Emergency in an effort to bring renewable power to UK festival sites.

The project aimed to drive grid connections to festivals nationwide and begin the transition of the UK outdoor live sector to grid power. It will ultimately reduce carbon emissions for the sector in relation to temporary power generation.

Visit here for all the latest news, reviews, photos, interviews and more from Glastonbury 2023.

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