Through a Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) brokered by Flow Power, Asahi Beverages will purchase 40,000 MWh of renewable energy every year for eight years.
This is enough energy to power more than 5,700 homes and nearly 81,000 beer fridges annually. The energy will be sourced from Queensland’s Clermont Solar Farm. Clermont is a region renowned for its high heat and low rainfall, and the solar farm delivers one of Australia’s highest per-unit energy yields.
Flow Power, the company that brokered the agreement, is one of Australia’s fast growing energy retailers, and provides energy to organisations including The Sydney Opera House, City of Sydney, and Pernod Ricard Winemakers. In July 2022, Flow Power secured an 8.5-year PPA for 25.22 MW from Clermont, and this deal with Asahi Beverages accounts for around 80 per cent of Flow Power’s offtake.
Flow Power COO Byron Serjeantson is pleased with the outcome.
“We are proud to be supporting our long-term customer, Asahi, in continuing to improve the sustainability of their 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,” Serjeantson said.
Asahi Beverages also utilises solar power gathered from panels installed at its Yatala brewery on the Gold Coast. This is the biggest solar project at any brewery in the country, generating enough solar power to brew the equivalent of around 150 million cans each year. This furthers Asahi’s goal of having 100 per cent of its purchased electricity sourced from or matched with renewable sources by 2025.
John Tortora, Asahi Beverages Group chief procurement and sustainability officer, spoke of his excitement about the project.
“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 bottle or tinnie in a more sustainable way,” Tortora said.