In the city known as one of the hopping destinations for craft beers in the U.S., a local brewery is embracing energy decarbonization by having a commercial solar system installed on-site.
The Ballast Point Brewery in San Diego soon will brew its array of beers with help from the power from the sun. HES Renewables is building the 1.03-MW (1,032 kW) solar array with 2,400 panels across two large rooftops at the Ballast Point facility.
The solar project is part of a long-standing energy partnership between real estate company H.G. Fenton and HES Renewables. The partnership is focused on adding more solar and some solar-energy storage combinations to properties throughout California.
Ballast Point brews its craft beers at a facility near the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, itself the site of a well-known microgrid. The Miramar microgrid project was completed several years ago in a partnership with Schneider Electric, Black & Veatch and San Diego Gas & Electric.
HES Renewables recently completed a solar system for the Harland Brewing Co. in Scripps Ranch (pictured at right). Prior to that, the clean energy firm installed solar for the Nickel Beer Co. in Julian, California.
Among the companies’ other solar projects include work for PepsiCo, Aptera Motors, Innovative Cold Storage Enterprises and Bega North America.
HES Renewables also is based in San Diego and was created as a division of HES Solar in May 2023. Ballast Point started in 1996 and has created such well-known craft beer brands at Sculpin IPA, Watermelon Dorado and Swingin’ Friar Ale.
Energy consumption can account for up to 8% of the production costs of beer, or close to 13,000 BTU (British Thermal Units) per barrel, according to reports by researchers such as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
San Diego is often ranked as one of the nation’s top cities for craft beer breweries by the likes of USA Today and Fodors.
