Anheuser-Busch buys enough wind power to brew 20 billion beers a year

Dive Brief:

Anheuser-Busch has inked an agreement with Enel Green Power to purchase electricity delivered to the grid and renewable electricity credits amounting to 152.5 MW of output from the Thunder Ranch wind project in Oklahoma.
The beer giant said that amount of renewable electricity would be used to brew more than 20 billion 12 oz. servings each year.
Energy covered under the power purchase agreement is equivalent to up to 50% of Anheuser-Busch’s total purchased electricity in one year. The partnership with Enel is the company's first contracted utility-scale project to start operations; Anheuser-Busch’s parent, AB InBev, wants to reach 100% purchased renewable energy by 2025.

Dive Insight:

As large corporations increasingly look to acquire renewable energy and reduce their environmental footprint, significant renewable power purchase agreements are becoming more common, and are helping the green power industry to expand.

Amazon, for example, last year announced it was involved in development of a 250-MW wind farm in Scurry County, Texas, and is also developing wind and solar power in Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. Similarly, Johnson & Johnson revealed it was purchasing 100 MW of energy from a wind farm also being developed in Texas.

João Castro Neves, president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch, said in a statement that growing the company's renewable portfolio "is a strategic business move as we strive for long-term sustainability."

Through a virtual power purchase agreement, Enel will sell to Anheuser-Busch approximately 610 GWh of renewable energy each year, enough to meet up to 50% of Anheuser-Busch’s total annual purchased electricity — a substantial increase over the 7.5 MW of solar and wind facilities currently installed on-site at the company's major U.S. operations.

Once fully operational, Enel's Thunder Ranch is expected to generate more than 1,100 GWh of carbon free energy each year. Total investment in Thunder Ranch is about $435 million.

The project will interconnect with the Oklahoma Gas & Electric 345kV Sooner Substation near Red Rock, Okla.