Winterwatch pioneers the greenest screen
Chris Packham Winterwatch credit: BBC/Jo Charlesworth
Greener TV production practices have come into focus this week with the first ever transmission of a show powered solely by hydrogen fuel and energy saving batteries.
BBC Studios National History Unit completed an outside live broadcast of BBC Two nature series Winterwatch powered by green hydrogen fuel, hoping to demonstrate that there are viable alternatives to the traditional diesel-powered generators traditionally used in live outdoor productions.
The hydrogen generator used for the historic green broadcast is located at BBC Bristol’s outside broadcasting hub, and is part of a wider BBC Studios Natural History Unit initiative to reduce its carbon footprint. As an organisation, the whole BBC group is aiming to be net zero in terms of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Winterwatch, as a series, was a natural fit to pioneer greener production methods — its content focuses on tackling issues around the natural world and climate change, and production staff felt that its behind-the-scenes ethos should also reflect that.
Diesel generators, traditionally needed because of the power requirements of outside broadcast means crews cannot plug into the national grid, convert fuel into electrical energy, through the combustion of diesel. Sometimes known as ‘carpark generators’, they are hefty polluters, producing greenhouse gas emissions two to three times that of a combined cycle gas turbine.
In contrast, the green generator used in the broadcast uses hydrogen gas generated by solar and wind power to create electricity, with hydrogen turned back into pure water after use to create a waste-free circular production process. Batteries powered by hybrid generator systems, which use spare energy to charge batteries, also significantly minimised the use of diesel fuel and CO2 emissions.
And the savings of a green switch like this can be significant; an hour of TV production produces an average 9.2 tonnes of carbon emissions, according to BAFTA Albert’s 2019-20 annual report. Using hydrogen power instead of traditional diesel twinset generators during one live episode of Winterwatch reduced it by 3.3 tonnes of carbon emissions.
Winterwatch production manager Helen Wallbank said that the production team planned to switch to the new power supply permanently after its successful test run, and that she hoped it would inspire other programmes to follow suit.
“What we really hope will happen is that other productions will see that we’ve gone first, we’ve been the guinea pig, ironed out any issues along the way, and then they can take it on. The more productions that get involved, the quicker the kit will develop and become more mainstream.”