MillerCoors, a US brewer with more than 400 years of American brewing heritage, has completed a 3.2MW capacity solar panel installation at its Irwindale, California, brewery.
The new solar array is the largest installed at any brewery in the U.S. and will significantly increase the brewery's energy independence.
"From heating our kettles to the packaging process, we rely on energy to brew our quality beers. Simply put, without energy there is no beer," said Tom Long, MillerCoors CEO. "But we are acutely aware of the energy stress on this community, so we are doing our share - plus some - to decrease usage by installing this solar array. This step toward brewing more sustainably makes us a better brewer and a better neighbor to the residents of Los Angeles County."
The project, which broke ground in October 2014, generates electricity without producing any emissions and will help to offset electricity use on the local grid during periods of high demand. It will also help further reduce the brewery's traditional energy use, which has decreased by more than 30 percent over the last five years. With more than 10,000 solar panels installed across 10 acres of the brewery grounds, the MillerCoors solar array will produce enough energy to brew more than 7 million cases of beer annually. The brewery also creates biogas from wastewater to power two GE Jenbacher engines.
"Leveraging solar power helps ensure that we can continue brewing beer in California for years to come," said Ben Maillette, MillerCoors Irwindale Brewery Vice President. "MillerCoors has been a strong supporter of the San Gabriel Valley community for more than 50 years, and this project is the latest way we're alleviating some of the environmental issues facing the region."
MillerCoors worked with SolarCity, the nation's #1 solar service provider, on the project. While other brewers have installed solar arrays at their various sites, the solar array at MillerCoors Irwindale Brewery is the largest solar photovoltaic system installed at a brewery in the U.S.
