GeRMInaTe

I was in Melbourne yesterday and came across a stage with Cathy Oak from The Greens making a speech on the rather interesting Solar Powered Stage.  The idea is that instead of firing up a diesel generator or plugging in a fat cable to the mains, the stage lights are LED (and hence use about a quarter of the power of tungsten equivalents) and the power comes from a grid of solar cells attached to a trailer.  With the help of some batteries they are able to operate independent of other power supplies .  Even in the rain of yesterday the stage was positively glowing.

The stage was developed by Melbourne’s RMIT University as a collaboration between the School of Media and Communication and the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.

The aim of the GeRMInaTe project is to develop a ‘think green’ ethos within the Australian music industry and to promote best practice in solar power generation and efficient audio technology.

We at Electrolight applaud the initiative.

Cathy Oak on a solar powered stage