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A 28-metre-tall, bright pink and purple wind turbine created by Octopus Energy, to provide a renewable source of energy. Gusty has previously been used at River Cottage and came to Alexandra Palace direct from a spin at Glastonbury Festival.

We want Alexandra Palace to be more sustainable. This means exploring green energy solutions, so that we can reduce our impact on the environment, both now and in the long term. Gusty powered one of the bars for our Summer Season of outdoor events, as well as catering units at Kaleidoscope Festival. In real terms this only amounted to a small energy saving, but it was a huge step forward in our approach to energy use for our events, and provided us with valuable insight into one particular green energy source. It was great that Gusty helped to raise awareness and prompt discussion around green energy solutions. The Park and Palace has a history of innovation, and our aim to harness this as we seek to become more sustainable.

Gusty was here between 6 – 25 July, 2024.

Gusty is 28 metres tall, which is smaller than permanent wind turbines.

Gusty provided power to one of our outdoor bars, and catering units at Kaleidoscope Festival. In real terms this amounted to only a small energy saving, but it was a huge step forward in our approach to energy use for our events. The bigger picture for us was learning and exploring what renewable energy sources could be used here at the Park and Palace.

We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and creating a sustainable home for all that we do. We have made progress in recent years: from major infrastructure projects, to smaller but impactful changes, to securing funding, caring for the Park and trialling green technology such as solar panels. However, there is still so much more to do. Our ambition is huge, but we face challenges and many of the answers we need to find are not straightforward. Success will only come about through persistence, collaboration and building on the small wins, as well as bigger and more transformational projects.

We assessed the impact Gusty would have on the Park and Palace, our neighbours and visitors. Our teams worked alongside the Octopus team and key partners to plan every stage of Gusty’s journey to and from the Park. Gusty has featured at Glastonbury and River Cottage, so we utilised the findings from those locations. We monitored the impact on Park, including wildlife, throughout the time the turbine was onsite.

Because Gusty was in place for less than 28 days, we were not required to seek planning permission or carry out consultation. We used Gusty to learn and explore longer term opportunities to make the Park and Palace more sustainable.