Asahi Beverages to produce drinks using Queensland sunshine

Asahi Beverages, the owner of Carlton & United Breweries, is powering the production of its drinks such as Great Northern, Victoria Bitter, Schweppes, Cool Ridge Water and Solo with energy supply arrangements linked to sunshine harvested in outback Queensland.

Flow Power brokered the power purchase agreement (PPA) for Asahi Beverages, accelerating it towards its goal of having 100% of its purchased electricity sourced from or matched with renewable sources by 2025.

“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,” said Flow Power COO Byron Serjeantson.

Under the deal, Asahi will purchase 40,000 megawatt hours each year from a solar farm located in Clermont, Queensland. This is enough energy to power more than 5700 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 a high per-unit energy yield.

Clermont, which is owned by WIRSOL, makes use of Queensland’s 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% of Flow Power’s offtake.

Asahi Beverages has obtained large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) from Flow Power as a result of the project and has also drawn significant energy from onsite solar panels at its Yatala brewery on the Gold Coast. This solar project generates enough solar power to brew the equivalent of around 150 million stubbies 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.

“Our Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan is helping businesses like Asahi Beverages set and meet their renewable energy targets and I congratulate them on their announcement. 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 the Queensland Premier, The Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk MP.