(Photo: Super Bowl LIII at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set to be powered by renewables. Credit: Mercedes-Benz Stadium)[/caption]
Enel Green Power customer Anheuser-Busch announced this week that they would supply Atlanta’s Super Bowl Host Committee with renewable energy attributes to power the equivalent of the city’s energy consumption for six days — including Super Bowl LIII on February 3.
Anheuser-Busch says these attributes will offset 100% of the electricity used to power Super Bowl week with renewable energy from Enel Green Power’s Thunder Ranch wind farm in Oklahoma.
In 2017, Enel Green Power and Anheuser-Busch signed a long-term power purchase agreement. Under the PPA, Anheuser-Busch purchased the energy delivered to the grid and renewable electricity credits from a 152.5-MW portion of EGP’s Thunder Ranch wind project. At the end of that year, the facility located in Garfield, Kay, and Noble counties, Oklahoma, began operations. It has an overall capacity of 298 MW.
The renewable electricity purchased is the equivalent energy used to brew more than 20 billion 12-oz. servings of beer each year, and is capable of meeting up to 50% of Anheuser-Busch’s total annual purchased electricity, the brewing company says.
Atlanta, which is set to host the Super Bowl for the first time since 2000, became the largest city in the South to make a 100% renewable energy pledge in 2017. Last summer, city officials detailed ways to help reach that goal by 2035, including the purchase of renewable energy credits, improving energy efficiency, adding rooftop solar, and maximizing local renewable energy potential.
Budweiser says its renewable energy donation aligns with Atlanta’s goal of reducing the environmental effects of the Super Bowl. The game is scheduled to take place in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a 2 million-square-foot sports complex that has LEED platinum certification.
“It’s exciting to see Budweiser partner with Atlanta to power the city with renewables,” said Amy Davidsen, executive director, North America, for The Climate Group. She also noted that Anheuser-Busch is a member of RE100. “By working together to drive down emissions, businesses and local governments can accelerate the clean energy transition around the world.”
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