East African Breweries Plc (EABL) is set to complete the setting up of its biomass-fired energy plants as it accelerates its shift to renewable energy.
Diageo Plc, a majority shareholder of EABL says the Kenya biomass plants in Nairobi and Kisumu are in the final stages.
“Tusker and Kisumu breweries in Kenya are in the final stages of commissioning new biomass facilities, using sustainable local by-products to produce renewable energy,” said Diageo in its latest annual report.
“Our biomass investment in East Africa, and other projects like it, are critical enablers in reducing GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions and using 100 percent renewable energy across all our direct operations by 2030.”
Biomass power is generated from burning organic waste that would otherwise be taken to landfills or disposed of by other means. The beer manufacturer, which uses raw materials such as sorghum and barley, is expected to use the waste of its production processes to fuel the biomass plants.
For EABL, the biomass plants are part of its plans to cut costs and reduce reliance on Kenya Power which distributes electricity through the national grid.
The plants also fit into the company’s plans to cut carbon emissions.
Diageo had announced in 2019 an investment of Sh22 billion in renewable energy across EABL’s brewing sites to deliver new solar energy, biomass power, and water recovery processes.
EABL Managing Director Jane Karuku said the biomass plants would help the brewer achieve a net-zero status and reduce its carbon emissions by 48,000 tonnes annually.
Ms Karuku added that EABL has facilitated more than a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the last two years in its switch to low carbon operations.
“We continue to identify the right technologies to support our decarbonisation journey across our global portfolio of sites,” said Diageo in its latest report.
“Given the varying maturity of renewable infrastructure across our markets, and the time it takes to build and commission large decarbonisation assets, we acknowledge the acceleration needed to deliver these projects in time for 2030.”
