Veľký Šariš / Vienna, 6 February 2024
Starting from 2025, Šariš Brewery will use renewable electricity as the primary energy source. The Austrian-based Enery will provide green energy from their new solar park in the nearby municipality of Iliašovce. The virtual power purchase agreement is the first of its kind in Slovakia. The transition of the Šariš Brewery to renewable electricity sources represents another step by Plzeňský Prazdroj towards carbon neutrality in production, which the company wants to achieve by 2030.
New solar park for Iliašovce
Thanks to the cooperation between Plzeňský Prazdroj and Enery, a new solar park will be built in the village of Iliašovce, Eastern Slovakia. Produced electricity from this asset will cover about 92 percent of the brewery’s consumption and malthouse in Veľký Šariš, which is approximately 7.2 GWh per year. “Plzeňský Prazdroj will become the first company in Slovakia to support the construction of a local solar power plant via long-term commitment,” emphasizes Martin Grygařík, Sales Director and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Plzeňský Prazdroj Slovensko. The solar park in Eastern Slovakia will be built in the next six months on an area of 8.8 hectares. It will include 10 582 PV modules with an installed capacity of 6.3 MWp that will supply electricity to the Slovak power grid. The brewery will offtake the same amount of electricity from the grid as will be supplied by the solar park.
Unique Step for Šariš Brewery
The cooperation between Prazdroj and Enery is based on the Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA), which allows the brewery to offtake green electricity for 10 years. This is the first of its kind contract signed in Slovakia. “VPPA is an option for the business to be proactive and make the Slovakian power grid greener. It is also the most transparent way to ensure a green source of energy for a company. You know who supplies it at every given moment, “says Ján Horváth, CEO of Enery Slovakia. “Many European companies choose this way to become more sustainable and we are glad to support businesses with reliable, clean, and longer-term energy,” adds Severin Vartigov, Chief Commercial Officer for Enery. Prazdroj not only supports the construction of a completely new renewable energy asset with this agreement, but it adds other important benefits too. “On one hand, the overall carbon footprint of the Slovak power grid will be reduced. On the other, the energy self-sufficiency of the country will increase.,” explains Ivan Tučník, Sustainability Manager of Prazdroj in Slovakia.
Brewery run by solar energy
As of 2025, the Šariš Brewery will use only green electricity. Its primary sources will be from Iliašovce and from its own solar power plant, which will together cover 98 percent of the annual consumption of the brewery. The rest will be supplied from sources with certificates of origin, however, there is an ambition to replace these in cooperation with Enery. “We have reduced our energy consumption in the Šariš Brewery by half in the past 10 years. But we also focus on the sources from which we get it. By building the solar park in Iliašovce and our own solar plant in Veľký Šariš, the production in our brewery will transition to being run solely by renewable electricity sources from the sun and with traceable origin,” emphasizes Grzegorz Komora, Šariš Brewery Plant Manager. This way, the brewery will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,386 tonnes a year and the carbon footprint of its production by about 18 percent.
Plzeňský Prazdroj Slovensko, as number one in the Slovak beer market, has 580 employees and is one of the most modern breweries in Central Europe. Its portfolio of brands includes Pilsner Urquell, Šariš, Velkopopovický Kozel, Radegast, Gambrinus, Smädný Mních, Captain Jack, Peroni, and Birell non-alcoholic beer. It is proud of all its brands, especially Šariš Shiny 12% and Šariš Sparky 10%, which won gold medals in the tasting competition Slovak Beer Crown in 2023. The direction Plzeňský Prazdroj Slovensko is taking in the area of sustainable development is defined by its sustainability strategy To the Future 2030. The activities of the company in this area are summed up in this Integrated Sustainability Report.
Enery is an independent renewable energy provider dedicated to supplying its customers with reliable, affordable, longer-term green energy. With a diversified green fleet currently generating almost 450 GWh of clean electricity from 312 MW and powering nearly 190 000 households, Enery is at the forefront of driving the CEE region’s transition to sustainable energy. The company’s ambitious plans include ongoing development projects with more than 8 GW in 11 countries. With its diverse and multidisciplinary team of more than 25 nationalities, Enery is focusing on developing, constructing, and operating renewable energy projects by integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into every aspect of day-to-day business.
For media inquiries and additional information, please contact:
Enery Commercial Team
Email: green.ppa@enery.energy