Critical for all breweries: The Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar energy is schedule to fall from 30 percent to just 10 percent for projects that become operational after December 31, 2016. What does that mean for you? If you invest now in a roof-top solar array for your brewery, Uncle Sam will pay nearly a third of the tab. If you wait to invest, the ITC will only help with a tenth. Get in touch and we’ll let you know if you have a good opportunity for solar at your brewery.
There’s no single model for the sustainable brewery; every craft brewery is different. But the complexity and resource-intensity of the brewing process means efficient lighting and double-pane windows barely scratch the surface. To the Green Brewery Project, “sustainable breweries” have four essential components:
1) Smart Management of Inputs & Outputs. Sustainable breweries seek out local ingredients and find creative solutions for managing the impact of outputs like waste water, spent grain, and packaging.
2) Smart Design. Sustainable breweries seek out and invest in smart design and efficient equipment throughout all aspects of their business, within their financial constraints. Optimizing a brewing system is like solving a complex puzzle whose pieces could change as your business expands. It’s not just about solar energy. The quality, size, design, and placement of each of the components of the brewing system matters.
3) Smart Operation. Sustainable breweries develop strong operating procedures designed to minimize resource use. How you time your brews and operate your boiler, chiller, dishwasher, space heating and cooling, and even window blinds matters. Ensuring strong operating procedures in practice among your team takes discipline.
4) Continuous Data-Driven Management. Sustainable breweries continuously track resource use throughout their facilities. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Without continuous data collection, you can’t benchmark your performance, evaluate the effectiveness of new changes, or catch equipment malfunctions or lapses in operating procedures.
Get in touch to discuss sustainability in your brewery.
