AB InBev to brew 100% renewable in Western Europe under BayWa solar deal

BayWa re renewable energy GmbH will be providing solar electricity to Anheuser-Busch InBev (EBR:ABI), or AB InBev, so that the Belgian brewer can power all of its Western European operations with renewables.

The unit of German diversified group BayWa AG (ETR:BYW6) said on Thursday it has signed a 10-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) to supply the brewing firm with electricity from two Spanish solar parks of almost 200 MW in total. AB InBev will get the output of an over 130-MW portion of the overall capacity.

Subscribe for Renewables Now's Corporate PPA Newsletter here for free!

To fulfil the arrangement, BayWa will build two solar parks in Spain, naming one of them the Budweiser Solar Farm. Around 250 GWh of electricity will go for the Budweiser maker’s 14 breweries in Western Europe, excluding Russia and the UK, which already have renewable electricity agreements in place.

BayWa expects to bring the new solar parks online by the beginning of March 2022. Prior to this date, the German company will provide AB InBev with 75 GWh of guarantees of origin from its La Muela wind farm in Zaragoza, Spain.

The VPPA is the largest Pan-European corporate solar power deal so far, BayWa said. It is part of AB InBev’s efforts to meet its global power demand from renewables by 2025. The Belgian firm will label its Budweiser brand in Western Europe with a new symbol once brewing with 100% renewables power starts.