The city of Aalborg in Denmark has participated in a one-year collaboration with Aalborg University, Energy Cluster Denmark, Green Hub Denmark, Sound & Light, GEST (Green Energy Supply Technology) and several of its cultural institutions to develop a mobile green power generator which will serve as a clean alternative to the usual diesel generators used at outdoor cultural events.
“We can make concerts and events greener, and this is largely due to our fantastic educational institutions, which are geeks and innovators, and their good cooperation with businesses and authorities. To be a leader, it is crucial that we develop green solutions together,” said Lasse Frimand Jensen, the mayor of Aalborg Municipality.
The new power generator is carried on a small trailer equipped with 9 solar panels, which can generate up to 80 kW of electricity. It can be charged through the grid, if sufficient sunlight is not available. The generator is quite mobile as it only weighs about 1,300 kilograms (~2866 lbs), allowing it to be pulled by an ordinary passenger car, rather than by a truck. According to the designers, the concept is easily scalable in capacity, effect, and number of solar cells.
Associate Professor Simon Sahlin of AAU Energy states that though the generator was designed for events and their need for power, it could be used for other situations in need of a power supply – such as emergencies like fires, floods, and other natural disasters, where power is important for communication, surveillance, and aid. AAU Energy has plans to expand the concept with several more environmentally friendly fuels as a supplement to solar panels, including fuel cells based on hydrogen or methanol, or traditional generators using green biofuels.