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FUTURE SHOCK Outside Broadcast
or any event like that, there is a separate generator to run all the OBs. So although the thing that drives the vehicle to the site might well be electric in the future, the generators aren’t. The next big thing – and we don’t have an answer – is what will take over from diesel generators. Because there are hundreds, large and small, of these old generators still around. Nobody’s come up with a good idea yet I don’t think.” BBC Director General Tony Hall alluded to the ev-SAT vehicle in a speech on the BBC’s green credentials last month. He also praised the radical reduction in the use of plastics across productions and Strictly Come Dancing ’s adoption of biodegradable glitter. Our self-imposed environmental crisis won’t be solved one production or one OB truck at a time. But it’s essential that more companies follow in Megahertz’s footsteps and start prototyping quickly and publicly. Demand for these technologies is going to explode soon. We need to be ready.
IT’SACTUALLYALLRELATIVELYSTRAIGHTFORWARD. WHATWE’RE DOING ISNOT PARTICULARLY CLEVER, REALLY
The ev-SAT will be used by the BBC for newsgathering in and around London, with a maximum range of 70 to 80 miles per day, well within the parameters of any job it could be called on to do – and with its power reclamation systems, city driving is far more power efficient than it would be for a petrol or diesel vehicle. Back at base, the vehicle and the technical battery (as it would be on a diesel powered vehicle too) are charged overnight. Megahertz has had a lot interest in ev- SAT, primarily from continental Europe in cities that are drastically trying to reduce their carbon emissions. Sometimes the budget hasn’t been there for a new OB
vehicle but some companies do have budgets to spend on green infrastructure or refitting. It may be that clever accounting is where the next generation of green production starts. However, Burgess sees the major green upgrade not being in the propulsion of the vehicles, but in the generators which power their production gear. It’s possible that hydrogen power or a new, better type of battery could replace these diesel generators, but those are still some way off. “Typically, the larger OB trucks don’t have their own power systems. They rely on an external generator that’s provided for the venue. When you go to football matches
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