Scotch whisky industry aims to reach net-zero by 2040 скачать в хорошем качестве

Scotch whisky industry aims to reach net-zero by 2040

(12 Jun 2021) LEAD IN: Scotland's largest city, Glasgow, will later this year host the delayed U.N. COP26 climate summit. It's been billed as a "last hope" to keep emission-cutting commitments made in the 2015 Paris climate agreement. One of Scotland's biggest industries, whisky-making, is aiming to reach net-zero emissions in its operations by 2040, ten years ahead of the British government's 2050 target. STORY-LINE: Can Scotland's famed whisky-making industry go green? On the Western Highlands, 90 miles west of Glasgow, Oban Distillery has been making single malt whisky for over 200 hundred years. One of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, it is owned by drinks giant Diageo. "You need hot water to do anything in whisky production," explains Callum Rew, Oban Distillery's senior site manager. "So, you need hot water for our mashing process, which extracts the sugars out of the grain. But also, you need hot water in the form of steam to distil the liquid and create that lovely spirit that we make here at Oban." In 2018, the distillery switched from using fossil fuels to feed its burner to a rapeseed oil biofuel. It's burnt to generate steam, reducing the distillery's carbon footprint by 98 percent. All its electricity comes from a nearby hydro-electric power station. "It's allowing us to make that transition step towards zero carbon," explains Rew. "And we wanted to be out there, we wanted to be pioneering, we wanted to be there first and try and do something and learn, so as the other distilleries within Diageo can learn from ourselves." Rew admits the rapeseed oil reduction wasn't initially as efficient at producing energy as traditional fossil fuels. They were at first using about 30 percent more than they would traditional gas. But through optimization, it's now about equal. Other Scottish whisky distilleries are experimenting with using wind, solar, even hydrogen power. "As we've done here over the last two years, it's going to be a learning journey," says Rew. "It's going to take some time for the Scotch whisky industry, which is a really old industry, to convert and learn how to do things differently." Oban Distillery isn't the only one. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, the industry has made a 34 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2009. Almost a third (28 percent) of primary energy is now from non-fossil fuels. There are about 130 whisky distilleries dotted across Scotland. It's an industry worth around 5.5 billion British pounds. On the remote Ardnamurchan peninsula, Ardnamurchan Distillery has been using sustainable energy sources since opening in July 2014. The young distillery is powered by local renewables, including hydro-electric power from a nearby dam, and a biomass boiler that's fueled by locally sourced wood chip. "It's creating heat," explains shift leader Scott Stewart. "So, your stills always need heat, an immense amount of power. So, that's the main usage for the biomass boiler. But any time that you're making whisky, you're heating and cooling water constantly." Stewart admits biomass isn't as efficient as fossil fuels. It takes about two hours to get up and running from a cold start, whereas a gas or oil boiler is ready almost instantly. "We're being encouraged to be more sustainable, more environmentally conscious," he says. "As a new distillery, we wanted to get out in front of that and be a leader in terms of that. So, we will be the first distillery to be completely powered, 100 percent, with local renewables. And if we can show that that's possible to work, then others will follow." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...