Anheuser-Busch agreed to purchase 152.5 megawatts of wind power. That’s enough to produce more than 20 billion 12-ounce servings of beer a year and is about 50% of A-B’s total purchased electricity.
That’s enough energy to power 50,000 U.S. households and is expected to reduce emissions by more than 400,000 tons of CO2 each year, equivalent to taking more than 85,000 U.S. vehicles off the road every year.
A-B signed the power purchase agreement (PPA) with Enel Green Power, a unit of Enel Group. It will be generated by the Thunder Ranch wind farm in Garfield, Kay and Noble counties, Oklahoma. The Thunder Ranch wind farm is expected to become operational by the end of 2017.
A-B said the partnership marks “a vital step in delivering on the global commitment by Anheuser-Busch’s parent company to secure 100% of purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025.”
“As we strive to bring people together to build a better world, we at Anheuser-Busch are dedicated to reducing our carbon emissions,” said João Castro Neves, A-B’s president/CEO. “Helping to grow the renewable energy market is not only good for the environment, it is a strategic business move as we strive for long-term sustainability.
“Now more than ever, we are excited to lead our company’s global effort toward a renewable future and, partnering with Enel, set an industry example of how major companies can help to make a difference in climate change.”
Antonio Cammisecra, CEO of Enel Green Power, explained that “Power Purchase Agreements are an attractive model that provide not only an avenue for growth, but also revenue certainty through stable pricing.”
Through a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA), EGP will sell to Anheuser-Busch the electricity output delivered to the grid by a 152.5 MW portion of the Thunder Ranch wind farm, substantially boosting the beer company’s acquisition of renewable energy.
This output is expected to be capable of meeting up to 50% of Anheuser-Busch’s total annual purchased electricity, a substantial increase on the less than 2% currently generated by 7.5 MW of solar and wind facilities installed on-site at its major U.S. operations, A-B said.
In March, A-B’s parent, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced its commitment to secure 100% of the company’s purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025. This transition will shift 6 terawatt-hours of electricity annually to renewable sources in the markets where AB InBev operates, transforming the energy industry in countries such as Argentina, Brazil and India, and markets across the African continent.
Through this transition, the company will be able to reduce its operational carbon footprint by 30 percent (the equivalent of removing nearly 500,000 cars from the road globally each year) and become the world’s largest purchaser of renewable energy in the consumer packaged goods sector. The company has also joined RE100, a global coalition of influential corporations that are all committed to using 100 percent renewable electricity.