Australians trading excess solar power for beer
Popular Australian beer brand Victoria Bitter has partnered with retailer Diamond Energy and blockchain pioneer Power Ledger on solar power trading.
The initiative named Solar Exchange enables beer loving participants to trade their excess solar power for ‘slabs’ – 24x 375ml cans or bottles – of Victoria Bitter.
Under the programme, which is restricted to 500 spots initially, participants exchange credit on their power bill obtained from their solar generation, with every Au$30 (US$23) worth of credit exchangeable for a slab delivered to the door.
“Last year we put the Australian sun to work and started brewing Victoria Bitter with 100% offset solar energy,” said Brian Phan, general manager marketing Victoria Bitter.
“Now we’ve launched this Aussie-first programme to thank those who have made the effort to go solar with some hard-earned VB.”
Victoria Bitter, a lager, is produced by Carlton & United Breweries, which was acquired by Asahi Beverages last year.
The Solar Exchange programme forms part of Asahi’s sustainability agenda, which includes becoming 100% renewable powered by 2025, according to a statement.
Carlton & United initiated a 100% renewables drive in 2018 with a 12-year power purchase agreement for 74GWh per year from the Karadoc solar farm in Mildura, Victoria, with the balance to be topped up with additional resources on its premises.
The programme is being run on Power Ledger’s blockchain peer-to-peer trading platform, in partnership with the Melbourne electricity retailer Diamond Energy.
Victoria Bitter will receive the solar credits it obtains under the exchange from Diamond Energy and re-invest them back into the programme or towards the business’ broader sustainability goals.
“Power Ledger is delighted that our technology is being used to keep participants informed of their progress in the programme,” added Chairman, Dr Jemma Green.
“In a country that thrives on the beer economy, we are excited to be part of Australia’s first peer-to-beer energy exchange scheme.”
The programme is open to residents in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland (Energex customers only) and South Australia.
More participants are envisaged to join in the future.
Source : powerengineeringint
