Power & HVAC Case Study
BESS Saves Fuel and Provides 100% Redundancy at Tournament
Swapping two generators for one generator paired with a battery energy storage system (BESS) delivers cost cuts and peace of mind.
Summary
The Delray Beach Open significantly reduced fuel costs and improved efficiency at its 2025 tennis tournament by replacing its oversized dual-generator setup with a hybrid power solution combining a smaller generator and a battery energy storage system (BESS).
Challenge
The question of how to provide uninterrupted power for the Delray Beach Open's LED display panels and other infrastructure while minimizing fuel costs, reducing waste, and ensuring 100% redundancy was a challenge. The previous solution of running two oversized diesel generators 24/7 was inefficient, costly, and created concerns about potential fuel shortages during the event.
The annual Delray Beach Open tennis tournament, which takes place in Delray Beach, Florida, draws 60,000 spectators and features social events and live music along with tennis matches. LED display panels around the court display advertisements and must operate uninterrupted to fulfill contracts with advertisers and generate revenue.
For the 2024 tournament, organizers ran two diesel generators in parallel 24/7 to ensure the display panels functioned continuously throughout the 10-day event, and to power other site infrastructure. Because of the need to choose generators that could run in parallel, the generators were oversized for the load. Running them around the clock drove up fuel costs and created significant fuel waste.
Hoping for a more cost-efficient solution that still provided 100% redundancy, Delray Beach Open turned to United Rentals for help with the 2025 event.
Slashing fuel consumption with battery energy storage system
The two-generator solution from 2024 produced 200kW of power, far exceeding daytime demand peaks of 30kW, not to mention overnight demand lows of 5kW. Each generator burned about 5 gallons of diesel an hour, resulting in a fuel expense of $5,000.
United Rentals recommended a different approach for 2025: Leveraging a single, smaller generator (70kVA) and pairing it with a battery energy storage system (BESS) for backup power. The BESS selected by the power team was the 40kVA/60kW POWRBANK PRO from POWR2.
In a hybrid power solution, the generator charges the battery as it runs. During low-load periods, the battery automatically takes over the load. The POWRBANK provided steady power without voltage fluctuations typical of traditional generator setups, making the unit ideal for sensitive electronics.
The solution performed flawlessly and reduced fuel costs by 43%, even though the power demand for 2025 was quadruple the 2024 demand. More power was needed because event organizers switched to different LED panels, and they added 10 tons of air conditioning to a volunteer tent two days before the event.
Equipment rental expenses also decreased thanks to the elimination of one of the generators. All told, the customer saved $6,629 compared to the previous year’s spending.
Removing concerns about running out of fuel
During the 2024 event, despite daily fuel deliveries to fill the external diesel tanks, event organizers worried the generators could run out of fuel after operating all night to keep the LED panel controls powered. If the fuel truck didn’t arrive on time in the morning, the generators would be useless, and the panels wouldn’t work.
In 2025, the fuel trucks arrived at night. Because the BESS powered the panel controls overnight, the generator fuel tank was still full in the morning.
A bonus: Eliminating the external fuel tanks saved event organizers the $750 they spent in the previous year to pump out excess fuel at the end of the event.
“They paid for that fuel twice, which isn’t very efficient,” said Kevin Skaare, Territory Manager, United Rentals.
Providing peace of mind
Knowing the organizers were nervous about utilizing battery power for the first time, Skaare visited the site regularly to provide peace of mind and ensure smooth operation of the hybrid power solution. While on site, he went above and beyond to help where needed. In one instance, when another rental vendor ran out of cable wire for TV crews, he offered the use of cable and spider boxes from his own service truck.
When the generator shut down at one point due to an unforeseeable failure of a NOx sensor, the battery performed exactly as intended, seamlessly taking over the load. It powered the panels for three hours until a replacement generator was deployed.
The event organizers shared they were thrilled with the outcome, including the cost savings and the surprising ease of use of the battery system. Based on the success of the solution, they’ve also shared that they plan to use the same configuration for next year’s event.