DP World Tour launches zero-emission TV production
They look insignificant, but they are part of the energy solution: Two large containers on the sixth fairway of the championship course at Wentworth near London are ensuring that the tv production of the event is emission-free these days at the BMW PGA Championship. The two large hydrogen generators were installed by the British company GeoPura, which specializes in green energy solutions. Here, green energy is used to generate green hydrogen. The golf buggies used on the site also draw their power from these generators. Last year, diesel generators were still being used. The DP World Tour estimates that 16.4 tons of emissions can be saved by using the hydrogen units.
Expansion to more tournaments
Commenting on this new development, Richard Bunn, Managing Director of European Tour Productions, said, “we are always on the look out for new technologies that will us get to net zero carbon by 2040. Hydrogen is the future of power distribution and has the added benefit of being more resilient than diesel units because they have fewer moving parts. Taking this leap, a first for our industry, at such a high-profile Rolex Series tournament is a big statement. This is just the start, and the plan is to roll-out hydrogen power across multiple tournaments in 2024.”
Since the DP World Tour has set itself the goal of achieving CO₂ neutrality by 2040, numerous projects are now being implemented at the tournaments to reduce emissions. In the field of television production, for example, this also includes the remote production of broadcasts. Five DP World Tour tournaments have already been recorded this season at IMG Studios in Stockley Park, rather than on-site. Above all, this drastically reduces the amount of travel required by employees. According to calculations by the DP World Tour, the savings potential per tournament is as much as 87 tons of CO2 per event. What’s more, the IMG studios are also powered 100 % by green energy.
The DP World Tour is planning to increase the use of hydrogen generators in the future and is focusing on a much more sustainable handling of the complete media production of its tournaments. For Mary-Claire Gill, Head of Production for European Tour Production at IMG, “that the media industry can innovate and create real change.”
