Australia’s leading brewer, Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), is today sourcing renewable electricity for its brewery operations.
CUB is adopting renewable energy as the way forward, having earlier this year signed a 12-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with renewable energy developer, service provider and wholesaler, BayWa r.e.
With the completion of BayWa r.e.’s 112MW Karadoc solar farm in northern Victoria, CUB is now using renewable energy sourced from the farm. This takes the brewer one step closer to sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable energy.
CUB’s PPA provides 74,000 MWh a year – enough to power 7,500 homes - from the solar farm which achieved full energization in November.
The solar farm, which at 664 acres is the largest in Northern Victoria, has been developed by BayWa r.e. and was constructed by Melbourne-based Beon Energy Solutions.
CUB’s Business Unit President, Peter Filipovic, said: “This is an important step towards achieving our commitment to source 100 per cent of our electricity from renewables.
“In addition to our PPA, we will soon be installing solar panels at our breweries.
“Everyone has a responsibility to play their part to tackle climate change. CUB is no different.
“CUB is absolutely committed to delivering on an ambitious environmental and sustainability agenda.
“The investment also stacks up when you look at the reduced price we will be paying to power our operations. Moving to renewable energy will ensure that we have certainty of supply and pricing.”
Matthias Taft, Board Member of BayWa AG, commented: “This is a great milestone for BayWa r.e. in Australia, since entering the market in 2016, we have become active in solar and wind development as well as the solar installer wholesaler market.
“With Karadoc coming online, the partnership we have with CUB is a great example of how corporations are taking an active lead in driving the renewable transition in Australia.
“We are delighted to be playing our part in supporting CUB in realising its renewable energy goals”.
