Powering a major Australian beverage company

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

Asahi Beverages enlisted Flow Power, a fast-growing Australian energy retailer, to broker its new power purchase agreement (PPA), as a move towards the company’s goal of having 100% of its purchased electricity sourced from or matched with renewable sources by 2025.

Under the deal, Asahi will purchase 40,000 megawatt hours each year from a state-of-the-art solar farm located in Clermont, Queensland — an outback town renowned for high heat and low rainfall.

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 one of Australia’s highest per-unit energy yields.

Image caption: Clermont Solar Farm.

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. The deal with Asahi Beverages accounts for around 80% of Flow Power’s offtake.

Alongside the large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) it has obtained from Flow Power, Asahi also draws significant energy from onsite solar panels at its Yatala brewery on the Gold Coast. This is reportedly 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.

“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,” said Asahi Beverages Group Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer John Tortora.

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.

“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,” said Flow Power COO Byron Serjeantson.

“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 accelerate the renewable energy transition.”

Top image caption: Byron Serjeantson and John Tortora.