Two Silverado EVs Powered Quebec Concert Tour Off-Grid — SkimNews
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- Papillons organized the "Le goût du paysage" tour from August 15-22 across five Quebec stops, with two Silverado EVs handling the stage's sound, lighting, and site lights and a 150 kWh trailer-mounted power plant running chef Oli's kitchen.
- Chevrolet Silverado EV offers up to 205 kWh of battery capacity and 7.2-10.2 kW of onboard power depending on trim, which the author saw running cables straight from one truck's bed outlet to the stage at the final IGA parking lot show in Montreal's Saint-Henri.
- The 150 kWh mobile power plant was needed specifically because the kitchen's cooking equipment outpulls what two trucks' ~10 kW output each can deliver; the author's company Ixian helped Papillons engineer the trailer, which fed full-size electric ranges topped with stockpots.
- Hydro-Québec's grid is over 99% renewable (mostly hydro), meaning the trucks and power plant recharged from essentially clean energy, supporting Papillons' "zero emissions from start to finish" billing.
- The remote stops — Île-aux-Castors in Berthierville, Vallée Bras-du-Nord in Saint-Raymond, and Parc Éco-Laurentides in Mont-Blanc — had no grid access at all, venues where diesel generators would normally be required for any show to happen.
- Even at the urban Saint-Henri finale, batteries beat the grid because temporary event connections require negotiating with utilities, hiring electricians, and paying for a single evening of power, while diesel generators are louder than quiet acoustic sets.
- Papillons operates the RechargÉco fast-charging network across Quebec and New Brunswick, which let the trucks and trailer recharge between stops without needing dedicated event infrastructure.
Why it matters: The tour demonstrates that the Silverado EV's 7.2-10.2 kW onboard output plus a 150 kWh trailer can replace diesel generators for full concert productions — sound, lights, and a working kitchen — across both city and remote venues. With Quebec's over 99% renewable grid, that translates to genuinely zero-emission events where diesel fumes and noise would otherwise be unavoidable.
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