Heineken Spain to produce all beers with solar energy
Heineken Spain has signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Iberdrola, a multinational electric company, which guarantees the supply of green electricity to the brewer’s four factories in Spain and offices.
Consequently, all beers will be produced with solar energy, making Heineken the first brewery in Spain to produce all its products with 100 per cent renewable electricity.
Heineken says that this initiative reaffirms its commitment to sustainability, and leadership position in the industry by promoting the use of renewable energies in Spain. Once all the electrical requirements of the breweries have been met, the company will replace its existing gas boilers with biomass ones to be able to brew only with renewable energy by 2023.
The alliance between both companies has made possible the construction of a new photovoltaic plant in El Andévalo (Huelva), which will be used exclusively to produce all Heineken beers.
Guillaume Duverdier, Managing Director, Heineken Spain: “The sun is the new secret ingredient of the Heineken family beers. Our beers, brewed with the power of the sun, contribute to regenerating the environment by tapping into a source of natural wealth that promises millions of years of zero emissions and an essential element of the culture, character and warmth of the social life of the Spanish people. Because we all win when we join the fight against climate change, nature wins and the economy wins.”
The ingredient, which characterizes the Spanish culture, character and warmth of Spanish people will now also be used to brew the country’s Cruzcampo, Amstel and Heineken®. The sun, the natural capital which offers 600 times the energy that Spain consumes, will prevent the emission of 15,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year, the equivalent produced by thousands homes, or equivalent to 70 times the weight of the Statue of Liberty.
The brand new 100-hectare photovoltaic plant, as large as 270 football pitches, has been built exclusively for Heineken Spain to use. This will make all of the facilities, the four breweries and the offices in Spain plugged into the green grid. The power of the sun will not only power all of Heineken’s operations, or the equivalent of 4,200 million beers, but it will also empower the employees to continue Brewing a Better World in achieving the brewer’s goal of becoming a zero emission brewery by 2023 and becoming the greenest brewery in Spain.
Statement, Heinken: “At Heineken we want to drive a real change towards renewable energies in all regions where we operate. We are currently carrying out 29 renewable energy projects around the world, focused on harnessing wind and solar energy, biomass and biogas. In addition, we already have carbon-neutral factories in Göss and Schladming (Austria), facilities biomass on site in Sampang Agung (Indonesia), a solar installation in Kudenda (Nigeria) and four PPAs outside of the facilities to feed multiple factories and stores in Mexico.”
