Arnott’s Group links with Stanwell in shift to renewables

Stanwell will supply Arnott’s Group with more than 68 GWh of renewable energy as part of an eight-year power purchase agreement (PPA) which will enable all operations at the company’s biscuit factory in Brisbane’s north to run on clean energy.

The Queensland government, which owns Stanwell, said the partnership will source renewable energy from its Energy and Jobs Plan’s pipeline of renewable projects which are to shift the state away from coal power. The Queensland government is aiming to supply 80% of the state’s electricity demand from hydro power, wind and solar farms by 2035.

Stanwell’s deal with Arnotts covers the company’s manufacturing site in Virginia, which features eight product lines and three packaging lines, and employs more than 600 people.

Arnott’s Group Chief Executive Officer George Zoghbi said the PPA is the latest in a series of renewable projects across its Australian sites and would put the company ahead of target for its net-zero goals as it looks to as it looks to transition to 100% renewable electricity across its operations by 2029.

“This is an exciting partnership that will enable us to transition the way we source electricity for our Virginia site and significantly reduce our environmental impact,” he said.

Arnott’s has also engaged Sydney-based CleanPeak to build a 1.3 MW rooftop solar system at the Virginia site.

Stanwell Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Rourke said the deal showed how the company, which has historically been known for its coal-fired energy generation, is moving to diversify its generation portfolio to support the decarbonisation of industry.

“Stanwell Energy is one of Queensland’s largest commercial and industrial energy retailers with a renewable portfolio of 2,100 MW from projects that are currently operational, under construction or under development,” he said.

“This extensive pipeline of renewable energy projects means that we can expand our renewable offerings for customers as Stanwell becomes a diversified and renewable energy provider.”

The deal is the latest renewable energy contract signed by a Queensland government-owned energy generator.  Earlier this week CS Energy announced it had signed a deal with Australian-headquartered global investment manager AMP Capital which will see four major shopping centres in Queensland’s southeast source 100% of their electricity needs from renewable energy supplied by the 162 MW Columboola Solar Farm.