A new pilot partnership between West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, Bristol City Council, the ACT 1.5 project and multiple clean power providers will see a new temporary mobile power hub established within the city, that can be utilised by a selection of music and cultural events and ongoing TV and film shoots. This pioneering leap builds on the world record breaking low emissions ACT1.5 festival produced by Massive Attack on Bristol Downs in 2024 and the sustainable work the city events team have been carrying out through other initiatives.
While other national and international events have trialled part-battery power, this model would see the City Council and Regional Authority collaborating to guarantee renewably powered mobile energy and charging for the summer months to a selection of outdoor events. The health & environment benefits in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution will be extremely significant.
The pilot programme is anticipated to run from May to early September 2026, bringing together a range of battery and pioneering green-hydrogen solutions to green the summer season.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:
“People across the West love culture and love our environment, so this new partnership with ACT 1.5 is really exciting. Clean energy and the creative industries are both key growth sectors for us over the coming decade. Powered by Grid Faeries and Ecotricity, Geo Pura, and other partners, next summer in Bristol, major events on council sites can follow Massive Attack’s lead by cutting pollution for live events.”
Mark Donne (Lead Producer ACT 1.5) said:
“2026 will be the summer of plug for Bristol events, seeing in excess of 20 major events decarbonised, & an entirely new, viable model introduced. This is major step of unprecedented scale & the perfect legacy of Massive Attack’s transgression - not only for the environment, but for the people who live near, work at, or go to summer festivals and events. This is a clean air strategy as well as a climate one, and another world first for Bristol.”
Tony Dyer (Leader of Bristol City Council):
“Meeting our goal of becoming a carbon neutral city requires all sections of our economy to take action to reduce emissions and move to more sustainable practices. Working together with our partners across the city and beyond we are adopting innovative solutions to accelerate our progress towards net zero. This trial is a welcome approach to exploring how we can support the events sector to move away from the use of fuel driven generators, in turn improving air quality and lowering emissions. This approach sits comfortably alongside other efforts we’re undertaking to support the sector to recue emissions in the delivery of events. We’re investing in the Amphitheatre to green mains power and are scoping out the potential of replicating this approach across eight further venues.”
