Company profile
Founded in 1824, Brasserie Simon is a family-run business based in Wiltz. Well known for its high-quality beers, the brewery currently employs 24 people and is part of the food industry. With a long tradition and expertise in brewing, Brasserie Simon blends heritage and innovation to produce a varied range of beers that are appreciated throughout the country.
Idea
Lowering electricity costs
In response to today’s energy challenges and to improve its sustainability performance, Brasserie Simon made the decision to integrate a photovoltaic installation into its production process. The objective was to not only lower its electricity costs, but also to increase its energy independence and adopt a more environmentally-friendly business approach.
Design
Self-consumption for the cooling of beer
The project consists in the installation of a 190 kW photovoltaic system capable of covering the daytime electricity needs of production, as well as powering the 10 m³ cold store. The process of cooling the ice water, which is essential for beer production, has been redesigned to take full advantage of solar energy. Traditionally, this cooling was done at night to save on energy costs. However, by installing a new photovoltaic system, the brewery has inverted this pattern: chilled water is now produced during the day, when electricity production is at its peak.
Implementation
Participation in a call for projects
In terms of cost-effectiveness, the brewery applied to a call for projects to benefit from an investment subsidy. The call was conditional on the brewery self-consuming the generated electricity. Luxinnovation accompanied them in the application process. Once the Ministry had approved the bid, the project was immediately put into place.
An efficient control system is ensured by the technical service and enables optimum utilisation of the electricity generated for the cooling process of the 10 m³ cold store.
Results
Energie- und Geldersparnis
Senkung der Energiekosten: Durch die Integration von Solarenergie konnten etwa 40 % des Strombedarfs der Brauerei gedeckt werden, wodurch die Energierechnungen gesenkt wurden.
Investitionsrendite: Die Brauerei Simon schätzt, dass die Amortisationszeit ihrer Photovoltaikanlage etwa 8 Jahre beträgt. Diese Rendite ist das Ergebnis niedrigerer Energiekosten und einer verbesserten Gesamteffizienz ihrer Produktionsprozesse.
Additional measures
Within the framework of the national “Zesumme spueren – Zesummenhalen” campaign, Brasserie Simon increased its efforts to save energy and resources. Beyond the installation of solar panels, the brewery also introduced a number of additional measures to optimise the various production processes. Find out more in the video below.
