Article
Author: Tom van der Linden
(this November 2016 update featured the crowning of a new #1 in the charts!)
Though still an artisinal process in many cases, beer brewing is no longer a fully manual process and a lot of high-tech industrial machinery have allowed breweries to scale up, professionalize and standardize the precise production of delicious recipes. Of course, this machinery demands a lot of power. 'Greening up' this power demand is very much on the agenda of many beer brewers in the world, and not just for efficiency reasons. The international beer-market is a highly advertisement-driven market, in which consumers are very aware of who the main players are, and where consumers do develop attachment and predilections for certain brands.
Many brewers are switching to solar, from the small microbreweries with a couple of panels slammed onto the roof, to the brewing giants with industrial-size breweries with roofs covered with solar modules. Many of them are also investing in solar thermal heating, biofuels, isolation, wind power and many other ways of cleaning up their act, but for this overview we focused on those who have invested in solar (PV) systems to cut down on energy costs and build more sustainable companies and brands.
The top 50 overview is largely dominated by breweries from the US. Though Europeans like to claim to be sovereign when it comes to brewing beer, the Americans have claimed an important position, especially on the 'craft beer' scene. The number of American breweries is growing aggressively, with a new one opening just about every day. After a quick spike in the number of breweries following prohibition in the 20s and 30s, the number of breweries slowly declined to a low point of 89 in the late 70s. From the 90s on, the number of breweries has been rising explosively, now counting over 4,000 across the US, the highest numbers since the 1870s (though the scale can not be compared of course). Some of the giants in the American scene have taken to solar energy to help power their big facilities, like MillerCoors, the number 2 in this overview, who have very recently revealed a 3.2MW solar system to power their Irwindale brewery in California; and Anheuser-Busch, who have added a 530 kW system to their Newark brewery in New Jersey.
Most of the other American breweries can all be considered 'craft breweries'. Sierra Nevada ranks amongst the largest of them, both in production of beer and production of solar power. Both their Chico, California and Mills River, North Carolina breweries feature solar systems of resp. 2.6MW and 650 kW in size, claiming the #3 and #10 positions in this overview. Combined, they have even more solar capacity than #2 MillerCoors and #1 Heineken (the individual Massafra plant). Most of the other entries in the list are greenminded micro-breweries from across the US. Many breweries hail from the sunshine state of California, but they're also located in "less sunny" states like Montana, Michigan or Wisconsin. In some cases, these breweries can even count on state-support to go solar, like Short's Brewery in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, who received a $35k federal grant for their PV project.
Amongst these small breweries, the Anderson Valley Brewing Company from California (actively branding themselves as 'solar powered brewery' on their bottle caps, like the one above) and Left Hand Brewing Company from Colorado have been industry pioneers, having solar PV systems installed as early as 2006. Maybe that's what's been making their beers so particularly tasty (this writer specifically recommends Left Hand's delicious 'Black Jack Porter' and Anderson Valley's explosive 'Heelch O'Hops').
Though the application of solar (PV) energy for beer brewing seems to primarily be an American affair, there's one odd European duck in the list, actually dominating most of the top 10: iconic Dutch beer brewer Heineken. In partnership with fellow-Dutch solar installer SolarAccess, Heineken has outfitted five of their large European breweries with big solar rooftop systems and recently added another installation to the Tiger brewery in Singapore. Initially, their five European plants were all about 1MW in size, while their latest Singaporean addition amounted to 2,196MW. In November 2016, however, Heineken seriously upgraded the rooftop solar project on their Massafra brewery in Italy, which now sports 13,000 solar panels. With a total capacity of 3.3MW, this is the largest solar PV project installed on a beer brewery, worldwide.
Combined, these 6 plants amount to a 'portfolio' of over 9.3MW of solar capacity. Budweiser may claim to be "The King of Beers", but Heineken may rightfully claim the title of "The King of Solar Beers". Especially in the case of their Dutch plant, Heineken has grasped the opportunity to use the green move in their marketing favour. The 'Wieckse Witte' wheat beer that's brewed in the now completely solar energy powered plant is actively promoted as 'sunny beer', and commercials encourages consumers to "toast the sunny life". Recently, Heineken also launched a global "Brewed by the Sun" campaign, highlighting the iconic beer brewer's sustainability efforts across the globe.
But there's nothing but love in the "competition". Americans apparently still love Dutch beer, accounting for 37% of Dutch beer exports in 2014. Speaking of those export statistics: the 2014 data shows that only one country exported more beer than the Netherlands, which was Mexico. Yet despite excellent solar irradiation and a blooming solar market, there's not a Mexican brewery to be found in this overview. Unimaginable, since the sun and Corona make such excellent partners. Still much terrain to win on the solar-beer market and many brewery-roofs to cover with shiny solar panels!
Curious what the full list looks like? Scroll down to find the top 10 overview and a table of the full top 50 at the bottom.
Capacity: 3.3 MW
Size: 13,000 panels / 51,017 square meters
Installed in: 2012 (2.3MW upgrade in 2016)
Installer: SolarAccess
Generation: 4.42 GWh / year
Coverage: 18% of brewery's needs
Capacity: 3.2 MW
Size: >10,000 panels, 10 acres
Installed in: 2015
Installer: SolarCity
Capacity: 2.6 MW
Size: 10,751 panels
Installed in: 2011
Installer: Mitsubishi Electric
Coverage: 20% of company's energy needs
Capacity: 2.196 MW
Size: 8,038 panels
Installed in: 2016
Installer: REC Solar
Generation: 2,300,000 kWh / year
Capacity: 2.1 MW
Size: 6,000 panels
Installed in: Under Construction
Installer: Westcoast Solar Energy
Coverage: 50% of company's needs
Capacity: 1.463 MW
Installed in: 2011
Installer: SolarAccess
Coverage: 25% of company's energy needs
Capacity: 1.1 MW
Size: 4,200 panels (6,400 square meters)
Installed in: 2013
Installer: DHYBRID Power Systems
Coverage: 34% of company's energy needs
Capacity: 1.02 MW
Size: 4,000 panels
Installed in: 2014
Installer: SolarAccess
Generation: 876,000 kWh / year
Coverage: 5% of company's energy needs
Capacity: 1 MW
Size: 3,948 panels
Installed in: 2012
Installer: SolarAccess
Generation: 1.1 GWh / year
Capacity: 908 kW
Size: 3,632 panels
Installed in: 2013
Installer: SolarAccess
Generation: 855,000 kWh / year
Capacity: 710 kW
Size: 2,200 panels (2 acres)
Installed in: 2014
Installer: Kyocera
And without further ado, here's the full Top 50 overview:
Rank | Company Name | Size | Brewery Location | # Panels | Year Installed | Developer | Energy generation | Coverage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Heineken | 3.3 MW | Massafra, Italy | 13,000 | 2012 (upgrade 2016) | SolarAccess | 4.42 GWh / year | 18% of company's needs |
2 | MillerCoors | 3.2 MW | Irwindale, California, USA | > 10.000 | 2015 | Solarcity | ||
3 | Sierra Nevada | 2.6 MW | Chico, California, USA | 10,751 | 2011 | Mitsubishi Electric | 20% of company's needs | |
4 | Heineken (Tiger) | 2.196 MW | Singapore, Singapore | 8,038 | 2016 | REC Solar | 2,300,000 kWh / year | |
- | Lagunitas Brewing Co. | 2.1 MW | Petaluma, California, USA | 6,000 | to be completed | Westcoast Solar Energy | 50% of company's needs | |
5 | Heineken | 1.463 MW | Alken-Maes, Belgium | 2011 | SolarAccess | 25% of company's needs | ||
6 | Namibia Breweries Limited | 1.1 MW | Windhoek, Namibia | 4,200 | 2013 | DHYBRID Power Systems | 34% of company's needs | |
7 | Heineken | 1.02 MW | Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, UK | 4,000 | 2014 | SolarAccess | 876000 kWh / year | 5% of company's needs |
8 | Heineken | 1 MW | Bergamo, Italy | 3,984 | 2012 | SolarAccess | 1.1 GWh / year | |
9 | Heineken (Wieckse Witte) | 908 kW | s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | 3,632 | 2013 | SolarAccess | 855000 kWh / year | |
10 | Sierra Nevada | 710 kW | Mills River, North Carolina, USA | 2,200 | 2014 | Kyocera | ||
11 | Duvel Moortgat | 620 kW | Puurs, Belgium | 2012 | SolarAccess | |||
12 | Anheuser-Busch | 530 kW | Newark, New Jersey, USA | 3,000 | 2014 | Orion Energy Systems | 525000 kWh / year | 5% of company's needs |
13 | Highland Brewing Company | 324 kW | Asheville, North Carolina, USA | 1,045 | 2015 | Ashburn Builders | ||
14 | Stone Brewery | 312 kW | Escondido, California, USA | 1,561 | 2008 | Borrego Solar | 514,800 kWh / year | |
15 | New Belgium Brewing Company | 296 kW | Fort Collins, Colorado, USA | 870 | 2010 | Namaste Solar | 264,000 kWh / year | 3% of company's needs |
16 | Kona Brewing Company | 229 kW | Kona, Hawaii, USA | 880 | 2010 | Sunetric | 60% of company's needs | |
17 | Bear Republic Brewery | 166.8 kW | Cloverdale, California, USA | 2014 | North State Solar Energy | 43% of company's needs | ||
18 | SweetWater Brewing | 157 kW | Atlanta, Georgia, USA | 750 | 2012 | - | ||
19 | St Austell Brewery | 150 kW | Cornwall, UK | 600 | 2013 | ZLC Energy | 75% of company's needs | |
20 | Flying Fish Brewing Company | 129 kW | Somerdale, NJ, USA | 463 | 2011 | 150000 kWh / year | ||
21 | Anderson Valley Brewing Company | 125 kW | Boonville, California, USA | 2006 | - | 40% of company's needs | ||
22 | Pizza Port Brewing Company | 117 kW | Carlsbad, California, USA | 2013 | Sullivan Solar Power | |||
23 | Maui Brewing Company | 101 kW | Maui, Hawaii, USA | 2013 | 90-95% of company's needs | |||
24 | Ale Asylum | 100 kW | Madison, Wisconsin, USA | 480 | 2015 | 150,000 kWh/year | 20% of company's needs | |
25 | Jackie O's Brewery | 94 kW | Athens, Ohio, USA | 298 | 2015 | Third Sun Solar | 72% of company's needs | |
26 | North Coast Brewing | 92.2 kW | Fort Bragg, California, USA | 282 | 2013 | Sunlight Electric | ||
27 | Abita Brewing Company | 85 kW | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA | 340 | 2013 | South Coast Solar | 10% of company's needs | |
28 | Odell Brewery | 76.8 kW | Fort Collins, Colorado, USA | 2010 | 5% of company's needs | |||
29 | Atlas Brew Works | 67.5 kW | Washington D.C., USA | 2015 | Solar Solution | |||
30 | Alamo Beer Co | 64 kW | San Antonio. Texas, USA | 256 | 2015 | One80 Solar | ||
31 | Brewery Vivant | 54 kW | Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA | 192 | 2016 | Renovo Energy | ||
32 | Two Goats Brewing | 50.7 kW | Hector, New York, USA | 2015 | Renovus Solar | |||
33 | Bright Brewery | 50 kW | Bright, Victoria, Australia | 192 | 2016 | Living Energy Solutions | ||
34 | Maine Beer Co. | 50 kW | Freeport, Maine, USA | 2015 | 50% of company's needs | |||
35 | Fegley's Brewworks | 42 kW | Allentown, Philadelphia, USA | 2007 | ||||
36 | Dark Horse Brewing Co. | 40 kW | Marshall, Michigan, USA | 140 | 2014 | Patriot Solar, CBSI | ||
37 | Short's Brewing Co. | 40 kW | Elk Rapids, Michigan, USA | 2015 | Renovo Energy, CBSI, | 7-9% of company's needs | ||
38 | Worthy Brewing | 34 kW | Bend, Oregon, USA | 117 | 2012 | Sunlight Solar | ||
39 | Hanlons Brewery | 30 kW | Devon. UK | 2015 | SunGift | |||
40 | Uinta Brewing | 30 kW | Salt Lake City, Utah, USA | 126 | 2011 | 15% of company's needs | ||
41 | Legal Remedy Brewing Co. | 30kW | Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA | 2016 | 35% of company´s needs | |||
42 | Discretion Brewery | 29 kW | Soquel, California, USA | 2014 | Allterra Solar | |||
43 | Innovation Brewing | 28.5 kW | Sylva, North Carolina, USA | 100 | 2015 | |||
44 | Schlafy Bottleworks | 25 kW | St. Louis, Missouri, USA | 108 | 2012 | Microgrid Energy | ||
45 | Butte Brewing Company | 20 kW | Butte, Montana, USA | 80 | 2012 | |||
46 | Central Waters Brewing | 20 kW | Amherst, Wisconsin, USA | 2015 | ||||
47 | New Belgium Brewing Company | 19 kW | West Asheville, North Carolina, USA | 66 | 2016 | |||
48 | Arbor Brewing Company | 18 kW | Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA | 2012 | ||||
49 | Church End Brewery | 15 kW | Nuneaton, UK | 2014 | TGE Group | |||
50 | Bitter Root Brewing | 10 kW | Hamilton, Montana, USA | 40 | 2014 |
Please note that this overview was made using public internet sources. We do not claim this to be a complete and fully accurate overview and are very much open to feedback and suggestions on improvements.
We do not hold rights to any of the data or images.
Image Credits:
Header image: Odell Brewery - Fort Collins, Colorado
"Solar Powered Brewery" bottle cap image: Anderson Valley Brewing Company - Boonville, California
Heineken bottle cap: collage of internet images
Data Sources:
http://www.millercoors.com/News-Center/Latest-News/MillerCoors-Irwindale-Complete-Largest-Solar-Panel.aspx
http://www.sierranevada.com/brewery/about-us/sustainability
http://www.solaraccess.nl/uk/news/show/the-alken-brewery-commissions-6-000-solar-panels/31
http://www.edie.net/news/6/Solar-powered-beer--Heineken-unveils-UK-s-largest-green-brewery/
http://www.edie.net/news/6/Heineken-brews-beer-with-100--renewable-energy-/
http://americas.kyocera.com/news/news_detail.cfm?key=2307
http://www.solaraccess.nl/uk/news/show/duvel-moortgat-employs-solar-energy-to-mature-its-duvels/64
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/09/27/yuengling-brewery-cuts-energy-consumption-by-14/
http://www.highlandbrewing.com/about-us/sustainability
http://borregosolar.com/solar-projects/corporate/stone-brewery/
http://beerpulse.com/2010/02/kona-brewing-installs-solar-photovoltaic-system/
http://www.newbelgium.com/sustainability/Environmental-Metrics/Energy.aspx
http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/bear-republic-inaugurates-its-solar-beer-operations_100016263/#axzz3KukTVV7b
http://beerstreetjournal.com/sweetwaters-solar-panels-largest-in-atl/
https://avbc.com/the-brewery/ecological-commitment/
https://beerpulse.com/2013/07/pizza-ports-newest-location-adds-117235-watt-solar-photovoltaic-system-984/
http://beerstreetjournal.com/maui-brewing-powered-by-the-sun/
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2015/04/27/ale-asylum-brewery-adds-solar-panels-and-climate.html
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2013/09/abita_brewing_co_now_using_sol.html
http://odellbrewing.com/about/sustainability/
http://www.thebrewworks.com/sustainability/our-footprint/
http://www.uintabrewing.com/business_practices.php
http://www.allterrasolar.com/fight-global-warming-drink-more-beer/
http://schlafly.com/blog/2012/09/13/schlafly-bottleworks-gets-solar/
http://montanarenewables.org/profiles/system-profiles/
http://beerpulse.com/2012/06/arbor-brewing-company-becomes-michigans-first-solar-brewery/
http://lefthandbrewing.com/about/sustainability-green/
http://beerpulse.com/2012/06/arbor-brewing-company-becomes-michigans-first-solar-brewery/
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2008/07/30/anheuser-busch-to-pour-5-billion-green-beers-in-2009/
http://www.theheinekencompany.com/media/features/solar-brew
http://www.solarnovus.com/solarcity-and-millercoors-install-enough-solar-to-brew-7-million-cases-of-beer-a-year_N8511.html
http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/sierra-nevada-brewery-beer-powered-by-the-sun.html
http://www.solaraccess.nl/nl/nieuws/show//91
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKbL97CwFHM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWjJsbNo7Ws
http://www.duvelmoortgat.be/index.php?id=en-commitment-environment
http://newsroom.anheuser-busch.com/more-than-3000-solar-panels-help-power-anheuser-buschs-newark-brewery/
http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2015/01/14/highland-brewing-working-sunshine/21753621/
http://beerpulse.com/2010/01/new-belgium-brewing-turns-on-colorados-largest-on-site-solar-array/
http://enphase.com/eblog/2014/bear-republic-brewing-goes-local-for-solar/
http://beerstreetjournal.com/heres-what-sweetwater-will-look-like-soon/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderson_Valley_Brewing_Company
http://beerstreetjournal.com/maui-brewing-to-build-new-facilities/
http://www.sunpeakpower.com/ale-asylum/
http://www.solarreviews.com/news/solar-powered-beer-lets-you-drink-responsibly/
http://beerstreetjournal.com/uinta-brewing-joins-solar-trend/
http://www.discretionbrewing.com/about/
http://pv.energytrend.com/news/20150202-8200.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_Brewing_Company
http://www.solaraccess.nl/uk/news/show/solaraccess-solar-powered-beer-heineken-unveils-uk-s-largest-green-brewery/98
http://www.solarnovus.com/sierra-nevada-beer-brewed-by-solar-biodiesel-fuel-cells-and-wind_N8136.html
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-solar-powered-buds-for-you-2010-09-13
http://www.craftbeer.com/featured-brewery/sweetwater-brewing-company
http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/solar-powered-beer-at-anderson-valley-brewing-company.html
http://host.madison.com/gallery/news/local/photos-solar-panels-installed-at-ale-asylum/collection_c27d5628-87c4-11e4-bc52-07dd2e46b65e.html#0
http://beerstreetjournal.com/abita-brewing-goes-solar/
http://www.solarcity.com/newsroom/press/solarcity-and-millercoors-announce-largest-solar-project-any-us-brewery
http://www.mitsubishielectricsolar.com/showcase/sierra_nevada_brewery/
http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/24631/Solar-panels-Anheuser-Busch
http://www.renewwisconsin-blog.org/2014/12/ale-asylum-beers-soon-to-be-solar.html
https://www.google.nl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=19&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDQQFjAIOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theheinekencompany.com%2F~%2Fmedia%2FWebsites%2FTheHEINEKENCompany%2FDownloads%2FDownload%2520Center%2FSustainbility%2FSustainability%2520Local%2520Reports%2FCentral%2520Eastern%2520Europe%2F2012%2FSustainability%2520Factsheet%25202012%2520-%2520Italy.ashx&ei=2XeAVPHDG6S27gbe3IGgDg&usg=AFQjCNEoQY3ZAXn4l96ncpCcXhZhuC9sQQ&bvm=bv.80642063,d.ZGU
https://www.google.nl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=19&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDQQFjAIOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theheinekencompany.com%2F~%2Fmedia%2FWebsites%2FTheHEINEKENCompany%2FDownloads%2FDownload%2520Center%2FSustainbility%2FSustainability%2520Local%2520Reports%2FCentral%2520Eastern%2520Europe%2F2012%2FSustainability%2520Factsheet%25202012%2520-%2520Italy.ashx&ei=2XeAVPHDG6S27gbe3IGgDg&usg=AFQjCNEoQY3ZAXn4l96ncpCcXhZhuC9sQQ&bvm=bv.80642063,d.ZGU
http://alamobeer.com/2015/07/alamo-beer-company-crafting-beer-with-solar-art/
http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2015/08/14/michigan-brewery-gets-federal-boost--solar-panel-project/31704945/
http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/features/2015/08/04/atlas-brewery-in-dc-to-go-solar/31115377/
http://renovussolar.com/customer-stories/two-goats-brewing
http://bangordailynews.com/2015/06/12/business/light-beer-freeport-brewery-crafts-plan-to-become-solar-powered/
http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/ZLC-Energy-helps-St-Austell-Brewery-save-cash-new/story-27940229-detail/story.html
http://www.staustellbrewery.co.uk/our-responsibility
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/10/beer-climate-change_n_6839724.html
http://centralwaters.com/about/renewable-energy.php
http://jackieos.com/blog/the-rumors-are-true-jackie-os-taproom-is-going-solar/
http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/nuneaton_brewery_installs_15kwp_solar_array_315
http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Devon-brewery-Hanlons-toasts-new-solar-panels/story-27716418-detail/story.html
http://www.worthybrewing.com/worthy-green.html
https://pseg.com/business/go_solar/pdf/case_study-flyingfish.pdf
https://www.flyingfish.com/about/sustainability/
http://www.dhybrid.de/reference/brewery-namibia
http://www.ohlthaverlist.com/documents/f25_africas_largest_solar_rooftop_plant_officially_launched_20_february_2014.pdf
http://www.recgroup.com/en/asia-pacific-breweries-singapore-partners-rec-solar-installation-project-paving-way-clean-energy
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore/tiger-beer-will-be-brewed/2274946.html
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/northbay/sonomacounty/5410038-181/lagunitas-beer-solar-energy-project
http://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/bottling-the-sun-bright-brewery-taps-solar-to-be-electricity-self-sufficient/
http://www.9and10news.com/story/29791248/shorts-brewing-company-unveils-new-solar-panels
http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2016/03/17/rock-hill-sc-brewery-turns-sun-into-beer/
http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2015/12/20/more-area-breweries-going-solar/77368120/