Summary:

When a new 222 MW solar farm is completed on a site in Pecos County, Texas, by early 2021, every beer that Anheuser-Busch makes in the U.S. will come with a purchase of renewable electricity equal to the power used to brew it. A power purchase agreement (PPA) signed between Anheuser-Busch and Recurrent Energy,  will allow the beverage company to purchase the renewable electricity credits from the energy delivered to the grid by the new solar energy facility.

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In celebration of World Environment Day (June 5), Anheuser-Busch announced today it will be achieving its 100 percent renewable purchased electricity goal upon completion of a 2,000 acre solar energy facility by 2021. This 222 MWac project is the largest in scale for any U.S. beverage company* and, once complete, Anheuser-Busch’s entire portfolio of domestic beer brands – including Bud Light, Michelob ULTRA, Busch and more – will be brewed with 100% renewable electricity from solar and wind power**.  This will mark the early achievement of Anheuser-Busch’s 2025 Renewable Electricity goal in the United States.

Through a power purchase agreement (PPA) signed between Anheuser-Busch and Recurrent Energy, a leading utility-scale solar developer in the U.S. and a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, Anheuser-Busch will purchase the renewable electricity credits from the energy delivered to the grid by the new solar energy facility being built in Pecos County, Texas.

To commemorate this achievement, Anheuser-Busch President and CEO Michel Doukeris will be signing the world’s longest contract, for five billion years, with the sun. Using the heat of the sun itself, he will burn his signature into the agreement at Anheuser-Busch’s Brewery in Fairfield, California - one of the company’s leading facilities in sustainability, with solar panels and wind turbines onsite that help power the brewery. This contract, created by solar artist Michael Papadakis, is a symbolic gesture that states as long as the sun is shining, Anheuser-Busch will be committed to using renewable electricity sources.

“As the country’s leading brewer, we’re committed to driving meaningful change as we announce the largest solar partnership in the world for the beverage industry,” said Michel Doukeris, President and CEO of Anheuser-Busch. “From our 18,000 colleagues to our wholesaler partners, our teams across the country will continue to find innovative ways to create a world that is cleaner and more sustainable for future generations.”

The new solar energy facility will be fully operational by 2021, and it will be the size of 1,500 football fields – with enough solar panels to stretch from New York City to the Southern tip of Florida. The Pecos County, TX facility is expected to generate 650 GWhrs of energy annually - providing enough electricity to brew 20 billion 12 oz. servings of beer a year.

Anheuser-Busch’s commitment to solar is just one of its Better World program efforts focused on renewable electricity. Last year, Anheuser-Busch debuted its U.S. 2025 Sustainability Goals, focused on four key areas: renewable electricity and carbon reduction, water stewardship, smart agriculture, and circular packaging.

The ambitious goals, which build on the 2025 Global Sustainability Goals announced by the brewer’s parent company AB InBev, help guide and further Anheuser-Busch’s industry-leading sustainability efforts in the U.S. through 2025. The company’s new solar power commitment, coupled with its partnership with Enel Green Power to use renewable electricity credits delivered from the Budweiser Wind Farm at Thunder Ranch in Billings, Oklahoma, will enable Anheuser-Busch to meet its goal of brewing with 100 percent renewable electricity by 2021 in the United States – four years earlier than expected.

This announcement follows on the heels of Budweiser becoming the first Anheuser-Busch brand and the first major beer brand in the U.S. to be brewed with 100 percent renewable electricity from wind power in 2018, which the brand showcased in a commercial during this year’s Super Bowl.

“At Anheuser-Busch, sustainability isn’t part of our business, it is our business,” said Ingrid De Ryck, VP, Procurement and Sustainability at Anheuser-Busch. “This is about category leadership and making a positive contribution in the communities we live and work. This expansion and investment in our renewable electricity commitment not only brings us closer to realizing our dream of a better world, it also moves our business and operations forward.”

To learn more about Anheuser-Busch’s 2025 Sustainability Goals, please visit: https://www.purposebeyondbrewing.com/pillar/environment.html.