Brewing powered by sunshine
LION has installed one of New Zealand’s largest rooftop solar arrays.
Quick facts
- 14.4%: annual electricity needs supplied by the solar panels, powering the equivalent of 230 average households
- 5400m2: surface area of The Pride Brewery is covered in solar panels
LION NZ is excited to have installed one of the country’s largest rooftop solar arrays on the Warehouse at The Pride, New Zealand’s largest brewery and beverage manufacturing facility.
At 1.21 megawatts it’s estimated that the array will generate enough solar energy to provide 14.4 per cent of the brewery’s annual electricity needs – an amount equivalent to roughly 230 households!
The project, which was signed off in August 2024 and completed in May 2025, was more than a decade in the making.
The Pride, which opened in 2010, wasn’t expressly designed for rooftop solar. So, while the idea had been considered before now, feasibility and cost were barriers.
However, through teamwork and a novel partnership and power purchase agreement with Meridian, the project gained momentum and was made a reality.
“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.”
Craig Baldie, Managing Director, LION New Zealand
A significant structural assessment of the roof was undertaken to engineer the design and distribute the load of the 74,000kg structure across the building’s large wingspan. This enabled an array around five times larger than initial plans suggested to be installed. The array covers an area of around 5,400m2 and is visible from flights in to and out of nearby Auckland Airport.
Brewing is an energy intensive process, and the solar project supports LION’s ongoing commitment to decarbonise its business, while providing predictable energy costs and frees up more than a megawatt of demand from the national grid.