AUTHENTIC CORRECTION To reduce carbon emissions, Heineken South Africa places a bet on solar power.

 

The latest business to look for an alternative supply as the state utility's regular power cuts pound productivity stated on Wednesday that a new solar power plant at the South African branch of Heineken NV will supply 30% of a brewery's electricity consumption.

According to Richard Kriel, Heineken's Engineering, Strategic Projects & Sustainability Manager, "this project supports Heineken's 'Brewing a Better World' ambition to achieve net zero (carbon emissions) status in all its production facilities by 2030." "It is the latest step the company has taken on its path to more sustainably brewed beer."

Kriel was speaking at the company's Sedibeng, Midvaal brewery during the opening of the solar power plant.

The facility, which started generating power in May, has 14,000 solar panels with an energy capacity of more than 6.5 megawatts, making it the largest freestanding solar plant powering a brewery in South Africa and the largest within the Heineken group. According to the firm, it will meet 30% of the brewery's electrical needs.

Heineken claimed the 19-hectare (47-acre) facility would produce 17,000-megawatt electricity annually.

Eskom, a state-owned utility, frequently executes rolling power outages, sometimes known as "load-shedding," in an effort to satisfy demand.

The SOLA Group, a vertically integrated producer of renewable energy solutions in South Africa, has collaborated on the solar plant, which has a projected lifespan of 25 years.