Vancouver installs electricity ‘kiosks’ to keep film crews away from diesel generators

To reduce the film industry’s reliance on noisy diesel generators, Vancouver has installed several “clean energy kiosks” to provide power to crews working on productions near the waterfront.

The city said in a statement Thursday that it had set up three of the kiosks in the False Creek area, where it said crews use more than 200 generators for electricity each year.

The new kiosks will instead allow film sets to plug into and draw power from the city’s electrical grid. The statement said the council’s goal is to eventually have a network of kiosks throughout the city so that crews can access electricity at popular filming locations across the city by 2030.

“With the installation of clean energy kiosks in Vancouver’s high-demand urban filming locations, we are well on our way to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, compared to using traditional generators, up to 33% over the next seven years,” wrote Margaret Wittgens. , deputy general manager of the city’s engineering services.

“Additionally, neighborhoods that see a lot of cinematic activity will benefit from substantial noise reduction.”

The Vancouver Economic Commission and the Motion Picture Association of Canada both applauded the move in statements Thursday, saying the province’s $4 billion film and television sector must transition to non-financial sources. energy in order to be sustainable and to attract new projects.

“As our global industry continues to work collaboratively to find renewable energy alternatives wherever filming takes place, Vancouver is at the forefront of sustainability,” said Wendy Noss, President of the National Motion Picture Association.