Voltstack® in the field

Voltstack ecosystem powers film production in Atlantic Canada

In partnership with

Star Power Atlantic Logo

Tieren Hawkins was at the 2022 FIN Atlantic International Film Festival co-production market when an installation caught his eye. “I kept looking over at it wondering what it was,” Tieren says. “I went over and spoke to the Star Power Atlantic team and learned about the Voltstack 5k electric generators. My immediate thought was that those units could be very useful.”

The Solution

During the production of Curse of the Reefer Beast – a horror comedy by Purple Door Productions due to release in Spring 2023 – Tieren thought of Voltstack power stations or battery energy storage systems. “I realized that Voltstack electric generators would be the optimal solution for the production; both in terms of environmental sustainability and crew safety,” Tieren, who was serving as production manager, says. “I immediately sent an email to  Pascal (Partner in Star Power Atlantic) to get the conversation started and received a call within minutes. I was impressed by the attention he gave to learning about our production’s power requirements, along with the time he spent educating us on the ease of use of a more sustainable and cost-effective solution. The customer service experience along the way was second to none.”

The customer service experience along the way was second to none.

Voltstack 30k mobile battery energy storage system powering a film production

In addition to having the production powered by clean energy, it was the Voltstack 5k’s ability to provide silent power that appealed to Tieren. “They are quiet which meant we didn’t need to hide it hundreds of feet away from the set and spend time soundproofing it,” Tieren says with glee.

Almost as an added bonus, Tieren and his team found that by using the Voltstack ecosystem of two Voltstack 5k units and one Voltstack 30k, the production remained strongly within the objectives outlined by ALBERT’s Carbon Calculator and Production Certification.

Over the span of 12 days, the Voltstack ecosystem was powering the production for 12 hours a day. Naturally, the duration of the production and its power requirements had the productions gaffer, Sean MacDougall, worried about whether the Voltstack ecosystem would last. “On the first night of the production, I was so worried about whether the Voltstack 30k would last long enough,” Sean recalls. “To my surprise, by the end of the night, we had used a minimal portion of the mobile power station’s capacity. I was also blown away by how it could keep going through everything we threw at it. To top things off, while I was trickle-charging the unit, Pascal let me know that it would only cost about $14 (CAD) to fully charge the 30k. My jaw dropped!”

Voltstack 5k portable battery energy storage system powering a film production

The Result

  • Abated upwards of 2,000 pounds worth of CO2e

  • Reliable sine wave power 24/7

  • Saved post-production costs

  • No poisonous fumes

  • Reduced set-up time

  • No tripping hazards

  • Silence on set

  • Safe working environment for the crew

To learn more about how Voltstack clean energy e-Generators can help your film production become more sustainable, get in touch with an Energy Consultant today!