Surfing after dark to become a reality in Bristol

Bristol’s surfers could be surfing after dark soon after work starts this week on new outdoor lighting at The Wave, the city's inland surfing centre.

The ‘slice of the ocean’ received planning permission last year to install directional lights over the surfing lake, which will enable evening sessions to take place when daylight hours shorten. Construction work is expected to be completed by the end of June.  

The installation is being supported by The Wave’s official renewable energy partner Good Energy, which will power the lights. The businesses have just signed a long-term partnership agreement.

The Wave’s own solar array, installed last year and which generates more electricity than the attraction uses annually, feeds its excess energy back into the National Grid for other Good Energy customers to use. But as the lights will be in use when the sun goes down, they will mainly be powered by electricity from Good Energy’s other generators.

Good Energy ensures that for as many hours of the day as possible, the electricity its customers use is matched to what its generators are producing — with wind, hydro and biogeneration covering night time gaps without solar.   

Hazel Geary, CEO, The Wave, said: “Our planning permission allows us to operate from 7am to 9pm, but the reality is that for much of the year we can’t run all of these sessions as we lose the daylight. We know there is demand for pre and post-work surfs and we would also love to be able to run more options for children after-school, particularly in the autumn months, but until now this hasn’t been possible.

"Our impact work has also been constrained by the inability to work with some of these groups in the evenings. Being able to light the lake will open up opportunities for so many more people to learn to surf – and to progress on their surfing journey - throughout the year.” 

Four lighting columns are being installed around the lake. These have been specially designed to direct light on all areas of the lake, whilst not impacting the wider area.

Tom Parsons, sales and origination director, Good Energy said:  “Like Good Energy, The Wave is a brilliant example of a business that shows it is entirely possible to grow while staying truly sustainable. And expanding into night time surfing is an innovative and exciting way of doing exactly that.  

“The Wave have shown their commitment to cutting their carbon by installing their own solar array and we’re proud to supply their excess power to our other customers. But by using our hourly matching technology we can ensure that when the sun goes down, their energy continues to come from clean sources. The Wave’s customers can continue to surf after dark in the knowledge that the floodlights guiding their way are being powered by renewable power from some of our more than 2,000 generators across the UK.  

“We look forward to working with the Wave over the long term to implement increasingly innovative sustainable solutions that helps them grow, minimise their energy use and continue to offer an unbelievable experience to their surfers.”