The GlenAllachie distillery on Speyside has unveiled plans to install 134 solar panels in a neighbouring field.
They will power new carbon-busting mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) technology being introduced at the site.
MVR is expected to reduce current energy demand by 50%.
It will capture low-grade waste heat from the stillhouse otherwise lost to the environment and reroute it back into the stills.
Energy-hungry pot stills
About 70% of the energy used at The GlenAllachie can be attributed to powering its four pot stills; reducing waste energy will decrease its carbon footprint significantly.
The investment in MVR is backed by a “substantial” grant from the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF), the whisky-maker said today.
Energy firm SSE is upgrading local infrastructure and installing a larger transformer to pave the way for the advanced technology to be successfully integrated.
Bosses at The GlenAllachie, which is owned by veteran whisky entrepreneur Billy Walker, are also working with Highlands and Islands Enterprise to modify an existing boiler to improve its controls and efficiency.
We are acutely aware of the climate crisis and strive to punch above our weight within the Scotch whisky industry to decarbonise our processes.”
Operations director Richard Beattie said: “We’re thrilled at the news of our successful grant application for a project that will help us… to significantly boost our sustainability credentials.
“We are acutely aware of the climate crisis and strive to punch above our weight within the Scotch whisky industry to decarbonise our processes.”
Mr Beattie added: “Green technology tends to be very expensive during the initial phases of development.
“It can, therefore, often prevent smaller, independent firms from installing the equipment required to achieve their green ambitions.
“This cash injection from the SIETF, backed by the Scottish Government, is vital to facilitate such a move.”
Process engineering firm Briggs of Burton has worked on MVR projects in the past and is now “taking this technology to the next level”, Mr Beattie said.
According to the whisky-maker, its distillery “currently sits at around the industry average for energy consumption”.
The technology upgrade will allow it to move away from using natural gas to eco-friendly electricity and alternative green energy sources. These will include biogas – which is already created in the production process – and hydrogen, when commercially available.
Other investments at The GlenAllachie
Earlier this year the distillery unveiled an upgraded visitor centre, new bar and tasting lounge. It also installed electric vehicle charging points, now powered by solar energy.
It secured a Scottish Government SIETF grant just over a year ago, part of a £9.4 million handout to a total of 10 businesses, for a feasibility study for its MVR scheme.
The SIETF programme was launched in December 2020. The first recipients were announced on October 8 2021.
SIETF supports industrial sites with high energy use to transition to a low-carbon future.
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