As the assembly of the 18th edition begins in the Citadel, the Main Square Festival takes a new step in reducing its environmental footprint. Event organizer Live Nation is working with its partners, including the Communauté Urbaine d’Arras, ENGIE, the festival’s official green electricity supplier, and Enedis, the electricity distribution network manager, to better understand electricity consumption and increase the share of electricity coming from the grid in order to reduce the use of diesel generators.
Green electricity and energy audit with ENGIE
With the desire to reduce the energy aspect of its carbon footprint in 2024, the Main Square Festival is relying for the 2nd consecutive year on its partner ENGIE. The leading supplier of green electricity in France for individuals, ENGIE also supplies the festival with green electricity certified 100% by guarantees of renewable origin. This partnership is part of the energy company’s renewed ambition to raise awareness and support businesses and the general public in the energy transition.
Furthermore, and for the second consecutive year, ENGIE will conduct an audit of the energy distribution of the Main Square Festival with the dual objective of: reducing the carbon footprint of the festival by developing the connection of the festival to the electricity distribution network and reducing thus the use of diesel generators; reduce consumption by optimizing the electrical service system.
Three times more electricity from the network since 2022
Originally, generators powered by particularly polluting fossil fuels provided the electricity supply for the festivities. This year again, Enedis stepped up to connect the Main Square infrastructure to the public electricity distribution network, thus ensuring a sustainable power supply. 8 temporary connections, with a total power of 1500 KvA, were connected. This approach is part of Enedis’ “Let’s connect events” campaign, the aim of which is to reduce CO2 emissions from the events sector by 90%.
Thanks to this development, the festival, from June 24 to July 3, will be carried out solely using electricity from the network. The Bastion stage, dedicated to welcoming regional artists, has already been powered 100% by electricity from the network since 2022.
ENGIE
« We believe that the ecological transition of festivals requires work on the infrastructures of the sites they occupy. Equipping the Citadel with more connection points to the network makes it possible to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the festival; we are gradually abandoning fossil fuels in favor of energies that emit less CO2, such as photovoltaics, wind power and electricity. hydroelectric. These efforts could not be achieved without the participation of ENGIE, CUA and Enedis with whom we are happy to work hand in hand.” says Laura Jaud, Festival Coordinator for Main Square.
ENGIE
« The work carried out this year on the site of the Citadel of Arras is part of a continuity. For several years now, the elected representatives of the Urban Community of Arras, in the various policies implemented, have ensured a sparing use of resources. This is also the case for major events such as the Main Square festival “, underlines Frédéric Leturque, president of the Urban Community of Arras.
