We are excited to announce our unique partnership with the Roskilde Festival and Austin-based Sol Design Lab, in a mutual exchange that will explore both the artistic and practical applications of clean energy.  At this year’s Roskilde Festival, (July 2 - 5, 2009) outside Copenhagen, Denmark, the SXSW sponsored SolarPump™ will make its debut.  Incorporating cutting-edge solar technology and the adaptive re-use of a classic symbol of American fuel culture, this innovative Solar Charging station will power electric scooters that members of the media can use to travel back and forth from the Media Village (in the center of the festival grounds) to the Press Center about a mile away (where the media can use the facilities to file stories).  The SolarPump™ will also serve as a practical and eye-catching tool to educate festival-goers about the possibilities of Solar Power, from both a technological and a creative point of view.  

Designed by Austin-based Sol Design Lab, the SolarPump™ project is part art, part education and part practicality.  It was created in February 2009, when Beth Ferguson, (a MFA candidate at the University of Texas at Austin), debuted it as her graduate project, with the intention of helping people re-imagine the future of transportation by showing solar powered mobility in action. Using the reclaimed body of a 1950’s gas station pump retrofitted with solar panels, she installed an innovative system to harness solar energy to charge electric scooters, laptops, cell phones, cameras, etc. (any item that uses a standard electric plug).  In consultation with SXSW staff, Ferguson redesigned and modified the Pump to be truly portable, temporary and suitable for outdoor events.  The Pump was fabricated and assembled by Ferguson’s Sol Design Lab in consultation with Austin Energy, Lighthouse Solar and with assistance from the University of Texas Department of Art.  The batteries and electric scooters are being supplied locally in Denmark, and Roskilde is providing space and other support for the assembly on-site. 

SXSW would like to thank the following for their support: Austin Energy, Department of Art & Art History at the University of Texas at Austin, Lighthouse Solar and Maverick Solar.

From left to right - Designer Beth Ferguson and Lula Marcondes, of Sol Design Lab, and Rick Mansfield from the University of Texas at Austin Art Department surround the SolarPump™ produced for the 2009 Roskilde Festival.