Australia’s leading brewer, Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), has moved a step closer towards sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewables with the signing of a 12-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with German renewable energy developer, BayWa r.e.
Under the agreement, the German company will provide 74,000 MWh per year of renewable energy, enough to power 7,500 homes, sourced from its solar farm in Mildura, Victoria.
CUB CEO, Jan Craps, said the company’s partnership with BayWa r.e. will create up to 300 jobs through construction and opportunities for long term employment through the solar farm’s ongoing operation and maintenance.
“This represents an important step in CUB’s commitment to 100 per cent of its electricity being sourced from renewables,” Mr Craps said.
“As one of Australia’s first and leading manufacturing businesses, we have a responsibility to ensure we play our part in tackling climate change and a range of environmental challenges.”
Mr Craps said the company is also moving towards onsite solar generation, which will see solar panels on the roofs at each of its breweries.
According to him, all of the company’s sites will remain connected to the grid, allowing excess capacity to be fed back into the system.
“Beyond our driving commitment to reduce our emissions, the investment also stacks up when you look at the reduced price we will pay to power our operations,” he continued.
“Moving to renewable energy will ensure that we have certainty of supply and pricing, something that is incredibly important for a manufacturing business like ours.”
Matthias Taft, Board Member of BayWa AG, said construction of the 112 MW solar farm is underway and will be built by Melbourne-based Beon Energy Solutions.
“BayWa r.e. is delighted to be helping CUB to achieve its renewable energy goals,” he said.
“For BayWa r.e., the partnership with CUB represents another success in Australia. Since entering the market, BayWa r.e. is now active in solar and wind project development and the solar installer wholesaler market.”
