Trade solar energy for slabs of VB

Victoria Bitter has launched Solar Exchange — a new program that enables beer lovers to trade their excess solar energy for slabs of Victoria Bitter.

The Solar Exchange program allows participants to exchange credit on their power bill — obtained from generating excess solar at home — for VB. Every $30 worth of credit can be exchanged for a slab, which is then delivered straight to your door.

“Last year we put the Australian sun to work and started brewing VB with 100% offset solar energy. Now we’ve launched this Aussie-first program to thank those who have made the effort to go solar with some hard-earned VB,” said Brian Phan, General Manager Marketing Victoria Bitter.

“The only thing better than drinking the big cold beer in the Aussie sun is earning beer while you do it. Plus it’s a real win-win for beer lovers and the environment.

“There are currently only 500 spots available. While we want to have more people exchanging solar credit for beer down the track, for now any beer lover who wants to participate should sign up quickly at www.vbsolarexchange.com.au.”

The launch of the program follows Asahi Beverages’ acquisition of Carlton & United Breweries last year. The program is part of Asahi’s ambitious sustainability agenda, which includes a commitment to be powered by 100% renewable electricity by 2025. In 2018 CUB adopted renewable energy as the way forward with the signing of a 12-year power purchase agreement for 74,000 MWh per year of renewable energy from the giant solar farm outside Mildura.

Solar Exchange has been developed in partnership with energy retailer Diamond Energy and Power Ledger, a blockchain-powered software platform that enables energy trading. VB will receive the solar credits it obtains under the exchange from Diamond Energy and reinvest them back into the program or towards the business’s broader sustainability goals.

Customers who sign up to the program can track how much beer they’ve earned based on how many solar energy credits they have exchanged with VB, with slabs being delivered each quarter.

To apply for the program, energy consumers with solar excess should switch their electricity retailer to Diamond Energy and agree to the VB Solar Exchange terms and conditions.

The program is available to residential householders only, with spots available for residents of Victoria, NSW, Qld (Energex customers only) and SA.

Further information, including eligibility requirements and terms and conditions, are available online at www.VBsolarexchange.com.au.