Cracker of a deal: Arnott’s takes iconic biscuit operations to 100 per cent renewables

The iconic Arnott’s biscuit brand behind innumerable Australian favourites, including tea-dunking Tim Tams, has announced a shift to 100% renewable powered operations, in a deal with Queensland’s Stanwell Corporation.

The deal, announced on Thursday, will see the Queensland government-owned Stanwell supply 68GWh of renewable electricity from its own solar and wind generation assets over an eight-year period.

For Arnott’s, it covers the power supply for the Group’s massive manufacturing site in Virginia, Brisbane, which runs eight product lines, three packaging lines, and employs more than 600 people.

According to Arnott’s, the Virginia factory produces 40 million kilograms of biscuits a year, including Monte Carlo,  Barbeque Shapes and the old staff-room favourite, Assorted Creams.

For Stanwell, the power purchase deal with Arnott’s is the latest in a flurry of deals the coal and gas plant operator has made since its 2021 revelation that its future must be in renewables and storage rather than fossil fuels.

Stanwell owns two coal-fired power stations, the 1,460 megawatt Stanwell Power Station in Central Queensland, and the 1,843 MW Tarong Power Station in southern Queensland, as well as four gas plants, and varying stakes in four coal mines which feed its coal plants.

All that makes Stanwell one of Australia’s largest energy companies, and the third biggest scope 1 greenhouse gas emitter behind AGL and Energy Australia, and ahead of Origin.

So shifting to renewables will be no small thing – but the recent announcement from the Labor Palaszczuk government that it will close all state-owned coal generators by 2035 has no doubt helped matters along.

In the second part of 2022, Stanwell signed two fairly major PPAs, it’s first with Brisbane Airport Corporation, closely followed by another with mining giant Anglo American, to supply enough renewable electricity to power its five coking coal operations across central Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

All this renewable power will come from Stanwell Energy – the company’s renewables-focused retail arm – which has so far amassed a portfolio of 2,100MW from solar and wind projects that are either operational, under construction or under development.

For the Brisbane Airport and Anglo American deals, the PPA have been connected to the 450MW Clarke Creek wind farm currently being built north-west of Rockhampton in Queensland, and X-Elio’s 200MW Blue Grass solar farm, which has completed construction in the Western Downs region and had its official launch in November 2022.

“[Our] 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,” said Stanwell CEO, Michael O’Rourke.

Arnott’s chief George Zoghbi says the Group’s PPA with Stanwell is the latest in a series of renewable projects across its Australian sites that will help it reach its net zero commitments ahead of target.

“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,” Zoghbi said.