By Ben Antonius
Daily Republic
May 29, 2009
Construction crews work inside a million-gallon tank being built last year at the Fairfield Budweiser plant to convert the brewery's wastewater into methane gas. The project was one of several energy saving measures the plant has taken recently Photo by Brad Zweerink file 2008 Anheuser
FAIRFIELD - It was with great fanfare than Anheuser-Busch in April debuted a 6-acre field of solar panels. But the company's next project could put that to shame.
Busch hopes to build a 400-foot wind turbine at its Fairfield brewery, a massive undertaking that would aim to harness the strong, steady winds blowing through the area.
If built, the turbine would likely generate about 15 percent of the brewery's annual use, plant manager Kevin Finger said. That is about five times the production of the solar field.
'The feasibility for wind out here is pretty good,' Finger said.
The company has already obtained city approval for the structure, as well as a sign-off from Travis Air Force Base, which has tangled with wind projects before because of concerns they could affect the base radar system.
It is the latest in a series of projects to offset energy use at the facility, following the solar panels and an earlier project called BERS -- for bio-energy recovery system -- that offset about 15 percent of the brewery's natural gas usage.
Fairfield was the 11th Anheuser-Busch brewery to get a BERS system, but the first to get a solar array. It would also be the first to have it's own wind turbine, Finger said.
'It has all been done by design,' he said. 'The technology is continuing to advance and it makes more and more sense for us.'
See the complete story at the Daily Republic online.
