July 30

One in seven Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. beers will be brought to you by renewable energy by the end of 2009, according to the company.

Its Houston and Fairfield, Calif., breweries are installing renewable technologies that will be operating by the end of the year, which will mean the company´s 12 U.S. breweries will be running on 15 percent renewable energy, said Doug Muhleman, group vice president of brewing operation and technologies for the St. Louis-based brewer.

In simpler terms, more than five billion 12-ounce servings of beer, about one in seven Anheuser-Busch brews, will be made using renewable energy.

The Houston facility will use biogas from a nearby landfill in conjunction with the brewery´s bio-energy recovery system, which converts brewing wastewater into fuel. The systems will generate 70 percent of the facility´s electricity. The Fairfield site also will use a bio-energy recovery unit as well as a solar power system at the brewery.

"We have a long history of protecting and preserving the environment and these projects will move us closer to our goal of running our U.S. operations on 15 percent renewable fuel by 2010," Muhleman said.

Contact Waste News reporter Joe Truini at (330) 865-6166 or jtruini@crain.com

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