Solar in the Barossa as premium wine maker shifts to 100 pct renewables

ASX-listed Treasury Wine Estates has announced new progress on its pledge to source 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2024, with the roll-out of solar at its Barossa Winery and Production Centre in South Australia, and Karadoc Winery in Victoria.

The premium wine company, whose brands include Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Pepperjack and Wynns, announced in September of 2021 that it was joining the RE100 movement, a global initiative driving businesses to shift to renewable electricity.

In an update to those plans, the company said this week that around 9,500 solar panels – or a total of 4,300kW (4.3MW) – would be installed by the end of this year at its Barossa and Karadoc facilities, in partnership with Shell Energy.

The solar arrays, which will include solar powered employee carparks, are expected to generate more than 5,500 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, the equivalent of powering 900 homes, TWE said.

Already, TWE’s Melbourne headquarters is powered by 100% renewable electricity, as is its Napa Valley, California headquarters, with rooftop PV installations completed at the start of the year.

But the plan is to meet the all of the electricity needs of the orgnisation’s wineries and vineyards across the globe, with a combination of on-site generation and the purchase of offsite renewable electricity by then end of 2023.

“Electricity makes up about 70% of our Scope 1 and 2 emissions, so switching to renewables is the single biggest and quickest action we can take to reduce emissions,” said TWE chief sustainability officer Kirsten Gray.

“It paves the way to meet our target of net zero direct emissions by 2030 and forms the foundation for future innovation and resilience.

“Sustainability is front of mind for our consumers, customers, and our employees globally, and we’re proud to be making progress towards our bold targets,” Gray said.

Shell Energy Australia CEO Greg Joiner said TWE’s nearly 13,000 hectares of vineyards all over the world gave it the opportunity to help shape how the wine industry navigates the energy transition.

“TWE’s investment in renewable energy and emissions reduction roadmap ensures it has a clear and considered pathway to achieving its global sustainability goals,” Joiner said.

“Shell Energy’s expertise in end-to-end low carbon solutions means the plan incorporates emissions reduction across the wine company’s operations: from the cellar door to offices, packaging centres and vineyards.”

Solar wineries are starting to catch up to solar breweries in Australia, including the 3MW solar system completed last year at Pernod Ricard Winemakers’ Barossa Valley wineries, rounding off the French company’s journey to 100% renewables for its Australian operations.

A 1.4MW of solar has also been installed across the Barossa Valley operations of the Yalumba Family Vignerons, including the Angaston Winery, Oxford Landing Winery and the Yalumba Nursery.