AB InBev beers will soon be brewed with renewable electricity throughout Europe, as AB InBev has inked a deal with global renewable energy developer BayWa r.e. to purchase 100% renewable electricity for its European brewing operations.
The 10-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) will see power supplied from two solar farms with a combined power output of almost 200 MW. Of this 200 MW, AB InBev will be supplied with over 130 MW. This makes it the largest Pan-European corporate-solar power deal in history, covering AB InBev’s 14 breweries in Western Europe and over 50 brands brewed and sold across 12 countries, including global brand Budweiser.
BayWa r.e. will fund and develop two new solar sites in Spain, one of which will be called the Budweiser Solar Farm, which will provide 250 GWh of electricity per year for AB InBev’s breweries.
“As a brewer, we rely on natural ingredients – water, hops, barley and yeast – to make our beers, so we know that sustainability is not just part of our business, it is our business,” says Jason Warner, European zone president at AB InBev. “From recycling CO2 released in the brewing process to eliminating plastic from our packaging, we are constantly looking to not only reduce our environmental impact but to have a net positive effect.”
The new solar capacity is expected to be added and connected by BayWa r.e. by March 1, 2022. Before these solar sites are up and running, BayWa r.e. will provide AB InBev with 75 GWh from its wind farm, La Muela, in Zaragoza, Spain.
AB InBev’s European brewing operations produce over 55 million kegs of beer each year and around 5 million bottles of Budweiser each week. Budweiser is now AB InBev’s biggest brand in Europe, following its launch in France and the Netherlands last year.
