Treasury Wine Estates goes hard on solar power

Australian wine industry giant Treasury Wine Estates this week unveiled the largest winery solar installation in Australia.

Commissioned 12 months ago, the solar system is now operational at the wine producer’s Barossa winery and production centre in South Australia, including on the car park roof.

The switch-on means brands including Penfolds, Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Squealing Pig and Pepperjack are on track to meet the company’s target of being produced using 100% renewable electricity by the end of 2024.

Featuring almost 6,000 solar panels at the Barossa site alone, the Australian systems are expected to generate more than 5,500 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, the equivalent of powering 900 homes.

The system has been designed to maximise the capacity of Barossa’s regional renewable electricity infrastructure, with the investment in Australia’s wine industry being promoted as TWE’s sustainability credentials.

It complements other systems already online across TWE’s Australian sites, including Coldstream Hills in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, Penfolds in South Australia’s Magill, and Wynns in Coonawarra.

Kerrin Petty, Chief Supply & Sustainability Officer for TWE, said the investment in transitioning to 100% renewable electricity was prompted by the urgency to decarbonise TWE’s global operations.

“Installing solar panels is the most significant contribution we can make to move closer to our ambition of net zero direct emissions," Petty said.