Glastonbury have confirmed the iconic Pyramid Stage’s production offices will be powered by a new anaerobic digester this summer.

Production associated with the festival’s main stage will run on power from the 124-kilowatt digestion plant, as will some other backstage areas.

The new anaerobic digester at Worthy Farm converts cow manure into methane gas, which then drives a generator.

Electricity generated will power Worthy Farm and Glastonbury’s onsite offices year round, with surplus power fed back into the National Grid.

In support of the planning application, Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis said: “This renewable energy source fits with our ethos of supporting green initiatives as the anaerobic digestion plant captures and uses emissions of methane and other greenhouses gases, which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.”

“There will be no noise associated with the operation of the equipment and it will vastly reduce the smell that comes from the slurry spreading on the farm at present. There will also be no additional plant/vehicle movements through the village as nothing will be imported or grown to feed the anaerobic digestion plant.”

Planning drawings for Worthy Farm’s anaerobic digester

Glastonbury’s Worthy Farm home is an active dairy farm, and milk produced by the resident herd of dairy cows is sold throughout the festival.

The farm has already installed 1,100 solar panels on the roof of the cattle shed, providing enough power for 40 homes from one of the largest privately owned solar photovoltaic systems in the country.

The ‘Pee-Power Project’ creates electricity from Glastonbury’s urine, a collaboration between Bristol University and the University of West England.



Low power LED lighting is used around the Glastonbury site, with the Green Fields area and Croissant Neuf stage run entirely on wind and solar power.

Stages in Theatre & Circus and The Park run on biofuel derived from cooking oil and other sources. The festival also uses a ground source heat pump to heat their offices.

Image credit: Andrew Allcock

Glastonbury have previously promised to ban plastic bottles ahead of this summers festival, though this hasn’t yet appeared in the festival’s waste policy.

Tickets for the festival sold out back in October, though Festaff, WaterAid and Oxfam are just some of the organisations offering volunteering places at Glastonbury.

Last time, the festival raised over £3 million for charity, including a donation to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Stormzy, Kylie Minogue and Janelle Monae have all been officially confirmed to appear this summer, and around a dozen artists have self- confir med.

Ahead of the festival, three bloggers have launched the only Glastonbury podcast.