Asahi Beverages is now powering the production of its beverage ranges Great Northern, Victoria Bitter, Schweppes, Cool Ridge water and Solo by purchasing 40,000 megawatt hours each year from a solar farm in Clermont, Queensland.
Energy retailer Flow Power brokered the new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for Asahi Beverages, accelerating them toward their goal of having 100 per cent of its purchased electricity sourced from or matched with renewable sources by 2025.
The PPA will see Asahi purchase enough energy to power more than 5,700 homes and nearly 81,000 beer fridges annually.
The 500-acre, single-axis solar tracking system farm at Clermont follows the sun’s trajectory for optimal energy generation, delivering one of Australia’s highest per-unit energy yields.
Clermont, which is owned by solar power company WIRSOL and commenced operations in mid- 2019, makes use of Queensland’s extensive existing grid infrastructure.
In July 2022 Flow Power secured an 8.5-year PPA for 25.22 MW from Clermont. This deal with Asahi Beverages accounts for around 80 per cent of Flow Power’s offtake.
Flow Power has issued Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGC’s) to Asahi Beverages, which provides a clear link to Clermont Solar Farm.
Asahi Beverages also draws significant energy from onsite solar panels at its Yatala brewery on the Gold Coast, which is Australia’s biggest brewery. This is the biggest solar project at any brewery in the country, generating enough solar power to brew the equivalent of around 150 million stubbies or cans each year.
The PPA with Flow Power allows Asahi Beverages to continue to procure renewable energy, while also reducing purchasing costs and securing power supply over the long term.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the government’s Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan was helping businesses like Asahi Beverages set and meet renewable energy targets.
“There are a number of exciting renewable energy projects happening across the state, supported by our Queensland SuperGrid which provides the backbone of our new energy system,” said Palaszczuk.
Asahi Beverages Group chief procurement and sustainability officer John Tortora said it was a great opportunity to work with Flow Power to harness Queensland’s ‘perfect weather’ to make Asahi’s beverages.
“Asahi and Carlton & United Breweries have been producing iconic beverages in Australia for years, so to harness even more of the Queensland sun to help us make Australia’s favourite drinks means consumers can enjoy their preferred drink in a more sustainable way,” said Tortora.
Flow Power COO Byron Serjeantson said Flow was proud to be supporting its long-term customer, Asahi, and continuing to improve the sustainability of its operations and leading the way in industry.
“Every year we see increasing numbers of businesses making the smart switch to renewables and reaping the benefits through Flow Power’s innovative renewable products and intelligent tools to better manage their energy. Together with these customers, we are delivering on our key goal to accelerating the renewable energy transition,” said Serjeantson.
