Budweiser UK brewery adds private wire wind turbine

Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I, part of Anheuser-Busch InBev (EBR:ABI), said today it will power its brewery in Magor, South Wales with a newly installed 3.5-MW wind turbine.

The turbine, built under a partnership with UK renewable energy firm CleanEarth Energy Ltd about a mile from the brewery, will provide power to the site via a direct wire. Budweiser Brewing Group will buy the electricity from CleanEarth under a power purchase agreement (PPA).

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

The turbine is expected to produce about 9 million kWh of electricity per year and meet almost 25% of the Magor brewery’s energy consumption. It is part of Budweiser Brewing Group’s plan to brew its beers with 100% renewable electricity by 2021.

The turbine is said to boast the longest blades in commercial operation in the UK, 68 metres (223.1 ft) in length. As it was hard to transport them by road, the blades were shipped an extra 500 miles (805 km) by sea into Bristol’s Avonmouth Dock, which left only 20 miles to go by road.

CleanEarth said in a statement earlier in December that ‘behind the meter’ installations like this one are becoming more popular with businesses as they recognise their benefits for achieving sustainability goals and managing energy costs.