Words by Smiley Team
Have you ever wondered how the heat you generate while dancing could be put to good use? One nightclub has realised just this. To mark the upcoming climate summit, COP26, Glaswegian gig space SWG3 is rising to the occasion by introducing a new method of harnessing energy from body heat.
The enormous amount of thermal energy generated by dancers, staff and visitors in SWG3 will be used to power the venue, drastically reducing its energy usage, with potential savings of up to 70 tonnes of carbon per year.
DJ, producer, activist and fashion icon Honey Dijon, is headlining at the project’s launch during COP26 on Sunday, 7 November in the New York Times Climate Hub takeover at the venue.
“Anything we can do at this moment to help climate change is a positive thing,” she said. “This new system of channelling energy from the dance floor is something innovative and sustainable.”
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To generate energy, the 'Bodyheat project' will capture people’s heat as they move around the venue before transporting it to boreholes across the space to be stored for “days, weeks or even months”, it claims.
SWG3’s founder, Andrew Fleming-Brown, created the venue in hope that it would become a world class cultural destination in Scotland. Announcing this latest initiative, he said: “It’s a very exciting time for us with work about to begin on the first phase of the innovative Bodyheat project.”
The project comes ahead of COP26, which stands for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties. This vital international event for tackling the climate crisis will unfold in Glasgow from 31 October till 12 November 2021.
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SWG3 is acclaimed as “a shining example of urban regeneration” by the Scottish Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
Spread over a post-industrial warehouse complex in Glasgow's Finnieston district, it features multiple spaces for visual and performing arts as well as night life, studios and venues for hire.
For more information about SWG3 visit SWG3.tv.
