Bluesfest's Lotus Palace Powered By Flower

The newest addition to the ever-expanding Bluesfest that happens each Easter in Northern New South Wales is the Lotus Palace, a Spiegeltent type of stage that will bring people nice and close to some of the festival's performers.

At the site this afternoon, it was revealed that the sound system for the new stage was run completely on solar power, thanks to an initiative from the nearby Southern Cross University's Contemporary Music course coordinator Dr Barry Hill. Dr Hill has developed a “solar sunflower” that allows the sound system to run on energy captured from the sun.

The panels are shaped in a sunflower like formation, not for looks, but for practicality. The sound system generator includes a 1.2kw solar panel array that opens up like the petals of a flower to be tilted and positioned for optimum orientation towards the sun.

“We're proud to officially launch the solar-powered sound system at Bluesfest, an event which has won many awards for its green initiatives and environmentally friendly practices,” Dr Hill said. “The aim of the project is to show the way sustainable design principles can be promoted within the Australian music industry, as well as promoting best practice in alternative power generation and energy efficient audio-visual technology.”

The festival continues to look towards improving its sustainability, Festival Director Peter Noble said,

"I applaud the SCU for developing this outstanding innovation. The Sunflower is another significant step forward to achieving our environmental goals," Noble said. "The triple bottom line is important to me and in time Bluesfest will also come to be known as a greenfest. People will come specifically to soak up our special vibe with an awareness they are partying up with full respect to our earth."

This afternoon's announcement was followed by a discussion about sustainable innovation in an arts and cultural context, moderated by George Negus and featuring Dr Hill, Byron Shire Council Mayor Simon Richardson and Bluesfest director Peter Noble.

Bluesfest continues through until Monday.