Brewery adds solar panels
By Ryan Casey

Since its founding in 1991, New Belgium Brewing Company has been a leader in sustainability. This year, with brand new solar panels adorning its packaging hall, that trend has continued.

“For us, we’re really fortunate in that our founders decided when they first started selling beer that [sustainability] was important to the company,” says Jenn Orgolini, New Belgium’s director of sustainability. “Before they even sold their first bottle of beer back in 1991, they knew that they wanted to operate in a way that was environmentally sustainable.

“So we’ve been trying since the very beginning to, in our production processes and in our design and in our cultural practices, do it in a way that is environmentally and socially sustainable.”

New Belgium, based in Fort Collins, had originally looked at installing the panels back when the 50,000-square-foot packaging hall was built in 2007, but “we just couldn’t make an economic case for it,” Orgolini says. Then, a year later, the company started participating in a Department of Energy grant, which eventually helped fund the new solar array. The new power source will lead to a reduction in peak load for New Belgium.

It’s just the latest example of environmentally friendliness from your friendly neighborhood brewery.

“It’s just part of our culture,” Orgolini says. “Every decision, we try and figure out how to do it better.”

When the packaging hall was in the works a few years ago, “we wanted to design a building with the most sustainable materials,” Orgolini says.

“One of the pieces [to sustainability] is to source locally … and then another piece to that is to use things that are going to waste,” she adds.

Completed in 2007, the packaging hall now has interior walls built from beetle-kill pine — all of which came from Colorado — and all the granite in the building is made from scraps. Even the corrugated metal is recycled.

“We try throughout to use sustainable materials,” Orgolini says. New Belgium has also installed an experimental kettle, which helps reduce the loss of water, and allows the heat from one batch to be stored over for use in the next.

The company also creates electricity by treating its wastewater on site before sending it to the city. The first stage of that treatment involves an anaerobic digester, which breaks down carbohydrates and proteins, thereby producing methane, Orgolini says. That methane is captured and stored and then piped to an engine in the brewery for use during peak times.

In 1998, New Belgium switched to wind power after a unanimous vote by employee owners. Suddenly, the company found itself as the first wind-powered brewery in the United States. The brewery’s 10-year commitment to buy wind power led to Fort Collins being able to finance an additional turbine.

“We do it because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s who we are,” Orgolini says.

Included in plans this year is a $100,000 pledge to help the Colorado River. This Earth Day, New Belgium is kicking off its Save The Colorado River campaign along with seven other partners, including the likes of Patagonia and Teva. Efforts will focus on water conservation in major cities that get Colorado River water, including Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego and Los Angeles; enhancing river flow is another major focus.

For more information, visit savethecolorado.org.

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