Lion NZ has announced the installation of one of the largest rooftop solar arrays in the country at New Zealand’s largest brewery.
Lion NZ Managing Director Craig Baldie said increasing the use of renewable electricity supports Lion’s ongoing commitment to decarbonise its business.
“Being one of the largest rooftop solar arrays in the country, the 2,424 panels covering an area of around 5,400m2, will be visible from flights into and out of nearby Auckland Airport,” he says.
“At 1.21 megawatts, it’s estimated that solar energy will provide 14.4% of the brewery’s electricity needs per year – equivalent to approximately 228 average households.”
Baldie says Lion is committed to the ongoing decarbonisation of the business.
“Brewing is an energy intensive process,” he says. “At the Pride brewery in East Tamaki, we can run 160,000 cans and bottles per hour across the four production lines.
“Since 2019, we have reduced Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions at the Pride by 13% per kilolitre of beverage produced.
“By investing in solar, we will increase our reliance on new renewable energy, reduce our carbon emissions further and free up more than a megawatt of demand from the national grid.”
The project was given the green light in August last year.
“In the past few years solar energy has come a long way,” says Baldie. “The Pride opened in 2010 but wasn’t expressly designed for rooftop solar.
“One of the things we had to work out was whether the roof could hold the weight as well as balance the costs. A significant structural assessment of the roof was undertaken to engineer the design for the roof to take the load of the 74,000-kilogram structure.”
Lion is partnering with Meridian Energy, Reid Technology and Solar Vision and the project is targeting completion in April.
“Along with the sustainability benefits, it’s a smart commercial investment providing predictable electricity costs and a less than seven-year payback period,” says Baldie.
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