Young Henrys brewery to host community-funded solar farm

Imagine if there was sunshine in your beer.

With a plan to build a solar farm atop the Young Henrys brewery in the heart of Sydney's inner west, there soon could be.

Community members can become shareholders in the project – a collaboration with community energy organisation Pingala – and therefore, part owners of a future local solar farm.

"When the Pingala guys came and spoke to us about it, we hadn't had an interest in solar. Being able to put enough aside for large-scale solar wasn't something we could afford," said brewery part-owner Oscar McMahon.

"This was the perfect thing for us. We will start buying the power from the Pingala solar system on our roof, repaying people's local investment into that system ... we start buying renewable energy from our community."

Electricity from the system will be used to power brewing processes, avoiding around 127 tonnes greenhouse gas emissions a year.

Since the Young Henrys brewery opened 3½ years ago, sustainability has been at the heart of the small business. Customers are encouraged to return and refill beer growlers, and 1 tonne of spent grain is donated daily to local farmers to be used as animal feed.

"Newtown is generally a place where people care about the person next to them and do have a feeling of responsibility for what they do and create in the world," says Mr McMahon. "There is a lot of 'greenism'."

The project will be the first for Pingala, part of a plan to start building community-owned solar farms on businesses and organisations across Sydney.

The first stages have been realised with approval for a $40,000 innovation grant from the City of Sydney.

Pingala volunteer Tom Nockolds said the renewable energy movement can no longer be ignored.

"This idea, [it's] time has really come. We're opening up a new way for people to invest in renewable energy."

He said the project is directed at everyday "mums and dads who are struggling to find an opportunity to invest in renewables".

"Particularly in Sydney, where a high proportion of people live in apartments, are renters, or don't have roof [space]," he said.

The Pingala initiative will aim for a 6 per cent to 8 per cent return for investors. After they have been paid back, the panels are gifted to the business to continue using.

The Young Henrys project has the nod from Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who said it shows how Sydney "can make the shift to renewable energy even faster".

While Pingala is still obtaining financial and legal advice for the project, Mr Nockolds said in the early new year solar panels will be appearing on the Young Henrys roof.

"When sunshine hits solar panels, it's like money falling from the sky."