June 27, 2025
Windhager and Greenpeace Team Up to Heat Showers with a BioWIN Wood Pellet Boiler
Festival-goers in the Green Fields area of Glastonbury 2025 enjoyed hot showers powered entirely by renewable energy, thanks to an innovative collaboration between Windhager and Greenpeace.
At the heart of the initiative was a state-of-the-art wood pellet boiler, installed and managed by experienced heating engineer Mark, who oversaw the system throughout the weekend. The boiler provided an environmentally friendly solution to a traditionally carbon-intensive festival necessity: hot water.
The unit, supplied by Windhager, one of Europe's leading biomass boiler manufacturers, uses compressed wood pellets as fuel—a renewable source that produces minimal emissions compared to fossil fuels. This clean-burning technology allowed Greenpeace to demonstrate a practical, low-impact way of meeting energy needs even in temporary, high-demand settings like festivals.
“The aim was to show that clean, sustainable living is possible even at an outdoor music festival,” said Mark Traynor, who installed and monitored the system’s performance, fuel usage, and efficiency over the festival’s five-day run. “We had queues of people using the showers every day, and the system kept up with demand without a hitch.”
Located in the Green Fields section of the festival, an area dedicated to environmental awareness and alternative technologies, the installation stood as a living example of clean energy in action. Visitors were able to learn about biomass heating, chat with Greenpeace volunteers, and see the boiler in operation.
This initiative forms part of a broader effort to decarbonise major events and demonstrate the real-world applications of sustainable technology. According to Greenpeace’s on-site energy team, the pilot project saved hundreds of kilograms of CO₂ emissions compared to using gas or diesel generators.
“It’s the kind of scalable, sensible tech we need more of,” said a Greenpeace spokesperson. “Whether it’s festivals or homes, systems like Windhager’s can help us transition away from fossil fuels without compromising on comfort.”
With the success of the Greenfields pilot, discussions are already underway about expanding the scheme for Glastonbury 2026 and bringing similar setups to other large-scale events.
For now, festival-goers left not only with memories of music and mud, but with a warm reminder that even something as simple as a hot shower can be powered by a cleaner future.
