Lion New Zealand has installed 2,424 panels covering an area of around 5,400m2 at its vast production and bottling plant, named The Pride.
One of New Zealand’s largest breweries is installing solar panels on the roof of its Auckland site in a bid to reduce carbon emissions.
Lion NZ, which operates as a subsidiary of the Australian-based Lion Group, has installed 2424 panels covering an area of around 5400 sq m at its vast production and bottling plant, named The Pride.
Lion NZ managing director Craig Baldie said the new installation supported the brewery’s ongoing commitment to decarbonise its business.
“Being one of the largest rooftop solar arrays in the country, it will be visible from flights into and out of nearby Auckland Airport. At 1.21 megawatts, it’s estimated solar energy will provide 14.4% of the brewery’s electricity needs a year — equivalent to about 228 average households,” Baldie said.
“Brewing is an energy-intensive process. At the Pride, our state-of-the-art brewery in East Tamaki where we produce many of New Zealand’s best-loved beers such as Steinlager and Speight’s, we can run 160,000 cans and bottles per hour across the four production lines.”
Lion New Zealand's "The Pride" production facility has just installed one of the largest solar array's in the country.
The project was given the green light in August last year and is being completed in partnership with Meridian Energy and Reid Technology.
Initial work on the build began in September 2024, with panel installation beginning in March.
Of concern when designing the installation was whether the building could withstand the weight of the array, weighing 74,251kg, with the solar panels themselves weighing 57,000kg on their own.
Baldie confirmed the brewery had to perform a “significant structural assessment” of the roof to engineer the design so that it could take the load.
“Since 2019 — our science-based targets baseline year — we have reduced Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions at the Pride by 13% per kilolitre of beverage produced.
“By investing in solar, we will increase our reliance on new renewable energy, reduce our carbon emissions further and free up more than a megawatt of demand from the national grid.”
Lion New Zealand managing director Craig Baldie said the installation supports the brewery's commitment to decarbonisation. Photo / Supplied
Meridian chief customer officer Lisa Hannifin said the company was proud to be supporting the brewery with its renewable energy plans.
“Lion is showing amazing leadership in this space, and it’s another important step on New Zealand’s journey towards an electric future,” Hannifin said.
“Energy contributes around 40% of New Zealand’s total gross emissions, so this switch by Lion will provide lasting sustainability benefits for the wider community.”
The project is being funded through a power purchase agreement between Lion and Meridian.
Hannifin said the installation was a smart commercial investment, as it provided predictable electricity costs and a less than seven-year payback period.
“Adding solar electricity into the mix is a logical and exciting milestone for us. We are proud to have been carbon zero across the whole organisation since 2021, and we continue to explore ways to be more efficient and sustainable across everything we do,” Baldie added.
