SAB and AB InBev Africa’s breweries across South Africa will have onsite solar facilities by the end of January 2020. This kicks off a multi-billion rand investment with the goal to purchase 100% of the business’s electricity requirements at manufacturing sites across Africa by 2025.
Onsite solar power at its seven South African breweries will partially power each facility and represents 7% of the business’s electricity requirements. This is equivalent to taking approximately 2 000 vehicles off of SA roads. This installation will allow for all electricity consumed for the production of its global brand, Budweiser, at its Rosslyn Brewery north of Pretoria, to be sourced from Renewable Energy. This is part of SAB and AB InBev’s ‘Budweiser Renewable Energy 100’ goal.
AB InBev’s global renewable energy commitment is that 50% of the company’s purchased electricity comes from renewable energy sources by 2020 and 100% by 2025.
“We’ve achieved our 50% target in key markets across the globe ahead of schedule and we are well on track to achieve our 100% ambition with good progress being made in Africa,” says Taryn Rosekilly, VP Sustainability, SAB and AB InBev Africa.
SAB and AB InBev’s Renewable Energy campaign was recently demonstrated with the use of the first electric truck to arrive on South African shores. The electric vehicle, known as the eCanter, is designed and manufactured by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), part of the Daimler Group’s global commercial vehicles business. Boasting zero emissions, the 7.5 ton FUSO eCanter is the first of its kind in the world.
The vehicle has a battery capacity of 82.8 kWh and a distance range of approximately 100-120 km. It is currently operating in customer hands in multiple countries, including Germany, Japan, Portugal, and has now been brought to South Africa for customer demonstrations.
SAB and AB InBev Africa is in the process of working on a Pan African Renewable Energy tender, which would seek to source an equivalent of 440 MW of solar capacity in order to meet our 2025 target in Africa. This represents an initial investment of approximately R5.6-billion for installation at these facilities, which would be invested by the business’s development partners with a further R12.4-bn in energy cost that would be committed by AB InBev over a 20-year period.
The implementation will consist of 3 phases beginning with onsite solar installations with a capital investment of around R1.1-bn. Once maximum capacity onsite has been achieved, renewable energy solutions will expand to appropriately identified sites surrounding the breweries:
- Phase 1 represents on-site solar installations
- Phase 2 are renewable energy solutions installed on land adjacent to SAB’s breweries which would be hard wire cables to its breweries
- Phase 3 will involve offsite renewable energy solutions, which comprise remote installations requiring wheeling agreements to deliver the power to its breweries.
SAB plans to migrate one of its South African facilities to 100% renewable energy supply by the end of 2020, one of the first of its kind in the country. The multi-faceted solution will encompass a wind and solar energy mix, a wheeling arrangement and energy banking.
Outside of its breweries in surrounding communities, SAB and AB InBev Africa plan to provide access to clean and affordable energy to around 80 000 people. Renewable energy micro-grid solutions will provide power to consumers at a significantly lower cost than current solutions. This process will be delivered and managed through a blockchain solution.
