Brown-Forman invests in wind farm project

The farm will generate the equivalent of 90% of Brown-Forman’s annual electricity usage for its US operations.  

The Solomon Forks Wind Project will start construction in 2018 with operations due to start in 2019. Brown-Forman will purchase wind power generated over the next 15 years to offset the greenhouse gas emissions from electricity usage at its US facilities, with the electricity generated by the wind farm sold on the wholesale market.

Brown-Forman’s environmental goals, set out in 2012, include a target to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2023. The purchase power agreement will enable it to meet this target, alongside additional reductions within its own operations.

Power purchase agreements such as this one allow companies to invest in renewable energy generation on a larger scale with a stable price for power over the length of the contract. Brown-Forman worked with Schneider Electric’s Energy and Sustainability Services to arrange the deal with Infinity Renewables, the developer of the wind project.