Budweiser has committed to a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in India for 3.6 gigawatt hours per year for a period of ten years with Amp, a global renewable power provider for its brewery in Mysore, Karnataka. Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), one of the leading brewers in the world, brews Budweiser and offers the most diverse portfolio of brands in the country. This new agreement is in line with AB InBev’s global commitment to secure 100% of the company’s purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025. The solar power plant in Karnataka will have a generating capacity of 30 MWAC and the renewable electricity generation has now commenced. Under the agreement, Budweiser will purchase the power from Amp.
Budweiser’s state-of-the-art brewery in Mysore is only the third facility in the world to be powered 100% through renewable sources. The solar power plant at Mysore will have a generating capacity of 30 MWAC.
Commenting on this launch, Jan Craps, President – APAC South, AB InBev said, “At AB InBev we are proud to invest in our communities and in having a positive impact for the environment as well by adopting sustainable methods to our operations. We are building a company to last and are committed to the Indian market. The use of solar electricity at our brewery in Mysore is a vital step towards ensuring 100% of the company’s purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025. We look forward to extending this initiative across all our breweries in India in the near future.”
The agreement is in line with Budweiser’s global commitment to secure 100% of the company’s electricity from renewable sources by 2025, a cause India is highly committed to India is currently the third largest solar market in the world and has set a goal to generate 40 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources.
The increased renewable electricity generation will also support efforts to achieve climate targets under the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) agreement that aims to bring all nations under a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change. Globally, this commitment will make AB InBev, the largest corporate direct purchaser of renewable electricity in the consumer goods sector and will reduce the company’s operational carbon footprint by 30%.
As a part of its commitment for a brighter future for all, Budweiser also adopted the village of Malliyuru, located near the SPR Brewery in Mysore to provide basic infrastructure that is dependent on renewable sources of electricity. The primary focus of the actions undertaken in the village is to provide solar powered infrastructural facilities such as streetlights, rickshaws and water purification systems. All of these are expected to benefit over 3700 people – almost all the people of the villages from these 3 Gram Panchayats at some point or the other.
Panchayats would be responsible to maintain the Solar Street Lights and Water Purifier so that it continuously benefits the people of the village. The Three Solar Rickshaws will be managed through a business model set up by the Gram Panchayat, where there will be income generation for maintenance of the system as well as ensuring livelihood of three families who will run three rickshaws. Solar Street Lights will enhance the safety and security of the people of the village in general – women & children being specific, whereas Water Purifier will bring about good health for the villagers. As a whole these renewable energy systems would help in contributing to a healthy environment and would help prevent emission of at least 3.5 metric ton carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
AB InBev is part of RE- 100, a collaborative, global initiative uniting more than 100 influential businesses committed to the use of renewable electricity in their operations. The company plans to enter into similar agreements in the near future and hopes to demonstrate that by switching to renewable electricity, businesses can contribute to a 100% renewable electricity future.
