Projects: Anheuser Busch - Fairfield, CA

2014 Anhueser-Busch Adds A Second Wind Turbine at California Facility

Drivers along Interstate 80 in Fairfield will be seeing double as the Anheuser-Busch brewery installs a second wind turbine.

The brewery added the final pieces to the top of the 80-meter tower Thursday. The new turbine named “Bud Light” joins the brewery’s original turbine named, you guessed it, “Budweiser” to bring the facility’s alternative energy generation to 4.1 megawatts.

The two wind-driven turbines along with a 7-acre solar array provide 30 percent of the brewery’s electrical needs, according to resident engineer Damon Waker. The new turbine is larger than its predecessor by 50 feet and has a 1.6 megawatt energy producing capability.

When the new turbine goes online in October, Waker said the brewery will produce enough of its own energy to brew, package and ship 33,000 cases of beer each day.

2011 Anheuser-Busch’s Fairfield Brewery Gets Greener

For the past several years, the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Fairfield has been investigating and implementing a variety of technologies to improve its environmental performance and help build on the company’s long legacy of environmental stewardship. The latest alternative energy technology to be introduced at the brewery is the installation of a 300-foot tall 1.5 megawatt wind turbine, to be fully operational in early November. The project has been developed through a partnership with Foundation Windpower and will eventually supply the brewery with 3.5 million kWh annually or approximately 10 percent of its electricity needs.

Anheuser-Busch has a long tradition of environmental stewardship, dating back to the late 1800s when Adolphus Busch began recycling spent grain as cattle feed, a practice that continues today. The brewer actively embraces environmentally sound technologies in its operations, with the mission to brew, package and ship the freshest, highest quality beer in the world in the most efficient and responsible manner possible.

“We are really fortunate here in Fairfield to have the opportunity to engage so many various types of alternative energy sources to help power our operation,” said Kevin Finger, general manager of the Anheuser-Busch Fairfield brewery. “When the external conditions are right, we’ll have the capacity to produce up to 50 percent of the brewery’s electricity needs via wind and solar power.”