Trusty Gusty plays Ally Pally: Octopus Energy wind turbine spins at iconic venue’s outdoor gigs
- Temporary turbine ‘Gusty Spinfield’ is fresh from a spin at Glastonbury Festival
- With a panoramic view across London, it’ll help power food and drinks stands at Ally Pally’s outdoor gigs this month
- It forms part of the 150-year old cultural destination’s commitment to finding green energy solutions to power its future
- ‘Gusty’ comes to London for the first time as part of Octopus Energy’s ongoing exploration of the potential of urban wind power
London, 2 July 2024 – Octopus Energy’s wind turbine makes its electrifying London debut powering food stands and bars at Alexandra Palace’s series of outdoor concerts this month.
‘Gusty Spinfield’, as the temporary turbine was affectionately named by Octopus customers, comes fresh from a spin at Glastonbury festival.
The turbine’s pink blades will now provide a stunning backdrop for the legendary London venue’s ‘Summer Season’ from 6th to 25th July.
Perched on top of the hill at Ally Pally, the 28-metre tall turbine is the height of over six London double-decker buses. It will produce enough green electricity for 300 fridges a day, paired with a battery to store any excess power so no breeze goes to waste.
The venue’s Kaleidoscope Festival on 13 July will be London’s first festival to feature wind energy. Octopus is offering customers a chance to win tickets to the festival, which will feature a stellar line-up of music, DJs and comedy performances.
This July also brings an impressive lineup of other headlining acts, including Bombay Bicycle Club (12 July), Suede and Manic Street Preachers (18 July) and Tom Odell (July 19). The ‘Summer Season’ concludes with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds on 20 July, providing music fans with a diverse range of performances throughout the month.
An activity day for local schools is also being run to showcase the benefits of green power to young people.
Zoisa North-Bond, CEO at Octopus Energy Generation, said: “Our temporary pink wind turbine was a big hit at Glastonbury and we’re delighted its London debut is at the iconic Ally Pally. Wind energy is famously both cheaper and cleaner, and surveys show that 4 out of 5 Londoners would support a wind turbine nearby if it meant discounted electricity bills.
“We see cranes dotted over London’s bustling skyline, so why not smaller but majestic wind turbines? In the future, we believe there could be more potential for urban wind power, where people want it.’’
Emma Dagnes OBE, CEO at Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust, said: “Our vision for the future of Ally Pally is to become a sustainable home for everything we do. We are only at the start of this journey, but our ambition is huge. Gusty is an amazing learning opportunity, allowing us to explore how we can embed renewable energy into our world-famous events. It’s also a chance to raise awareness and stimulate important conversations.
“Ally Pally was built as the ‘People’s Palace’ 150 years ago. A spirit of daring and innovation has steered us through the last century and a half. We’ve been home to major technological
advances and world firsts. We want to embrace that spirit more than ever. The single biggest threat we face is the climate emergency and we are determined that Alexandra Palace can be part of the solution.”
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
* YouGov research of 4332 UK adults, conducted 28th June - 1st July 2024.
Press Contacts
Octopus Energy Group
press@octoenergy.com
+44 (0)20 4530 8369
Alexandra Palace
clair@breadandbutterpr.uk | chloe@breadandbutterpr.uk
About Octopus Energy Group
Octopus Energy is a global clean energy tech business, driving the affordable, green energy system of the future. Under its own retail brand, Octopus delivers world-class customer service and cutting edge energy products to 7.9 million households globally. Its operations span 18 countries and the entire energy value chain. The group invests in, builds and flexibly manages renewable energy, operating a £7 billion portfolio of projects.
Octopus has licensed its advanced data and machine learning platform, Kraken, to support over 54 million customer accounts worldwide through licensing deals with companies such as EDF, E.ON and Origin Energy. Kraken enables Octopus to drive the electrification of heat and transport through smart tariffs and innovative cleantech. Backed by pension funds, investors and energy giants, Octopus Energy Group businesses deliver cheaper, greener energy and cutting-edge tech to countries and customers worldwide. For more information, check out our website
About Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace was opened in 1873, having been designed as the ‘Palace of the People’, with the intended purpose to provide entertainment and recreation for the masses. Today the Park and Palace are run by a charity – the Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust – which continues this mission by caring for and restoring the listed Palace and 196 acres of award-winning parkland, and hosting a programme of live music, sport, theatre, comedy, exhibitions and creative learning opportunities. For more information visit www.alexandrapalace.com
More about Sustainability at Alexandra Park and Palace
At the Park and Palace, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and creating a sustainable home for all that we do. We have made significant progress in recent years: from major infrastructure projects, to smaller but impactful changes, to securing funding, caring for the Park and trialling green technology. However, we know there is still so much more to do. Our ambition is huge, but we face challenges and many of the answers we need to find are not straightforward. Success will only come about through persistence, collaboration and building on the small wins, as well as the big ones. Our approach to improving our environmental sustainability is built around five areas:
- Reduce first: Reduce energy use, waste creation and consumption of materials and water
- Our people’s commitment: Listen to, empower and upskill our people to champion green practices in all that we do and celebrate successes
- Circle of collaboration: Work with clients, artists, suppliers, service partners, contractors and our visitors and communities to ensure we work towards a more sustainable Park and Palace in a truly collaborative way
- Being bold and ambitious: Set ambitious targets and investigate innovative solutions with funders and partners and showcase best practice to our peers
- Continuously improving: Develop and improve our strategy and Environmental Sustainability programme, communicating our progress in a transparent way
From the 150 years of Alexandra Palace:
Hey I'm Constantine, welcome to Octopus Energy!
×Close window