Renewable fuel project brews at Budweiser

Renewable fuel project brews at Budweiser
By Melissa Murphy
Article Launched: 07/31/2008

A plan to trade brewery wastewater for energy is under way at the Budweiser Plant in Fairfield.

The $10 million bio-energy recovery system project will take brewery wastewater, treat it and convert it into renewable biogas, where it will be sent back to the brewery and provide up to 15 percent of the fuel the plant needs to operate.

"It's pretty exciting," said Kevin Finger, Budweiser's plant manager. "It fits into our goal of making as little impact as possible on the environment."

Looking to be a good corporate citizen in Fairfield, Budweiser has already changed the burners in its boilers to be more efficient as well as the lighting at the plant.

"We're always looking for opportunities to pursue good initiatives that help the environment," Finger said.

The Fairfield plant also will be receiving electricity from solar panels on site.

The solar energy system, according to a press release, will generate the equivalent of approximately 3 percent of the brewery's electricity needs and also generate Renewable Energy Certificates for businesses or individuals to purchase to offset their use of fossil fuel energy and greenhouse gas emissions.

The new energy efficient process will be completed by the fall, Finger added.

Budweiser is owned by Anheuser-Busch. The company's brewery in Houston also is undergoing installation of the alternative energy technology.

"We have a long history of protecting and preserving the environment, and this project will move us closer to our goal of funding our U.S. operations on 15 percent renewable fuel by 2010," said Doug Muhlement, group vice president of Brewing Operations and Technology for the company, in a press release. "It's part of our pledge to be better environmental stewards of the world we share."

Being environmentally conscious isn't a new practice for Anheuser-Busch.

The 12 breweries in the United States also recycle or reuse more than 99 percent of the solid waste from their brewing and packaging processes - a tradition that began in the late 1800s when the company first recycled brewers' grain into cattle feed, the company said.