# Scottish Distiller Goes Green With Efficient, Biogas-Powered Gas Engine From GE Energy

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2012/02/scottish-distiller-biogas-ge-energy/
- Published: 2012-02-13T05:22:09-05:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

The Ayrshire Coast in Southwest Scotland is already famous for being pretty green—
from the fairways of the Royal Troon Golf Club (frequent location of the British
Open) to the rugged Galloway Hills. Legendary Scottish distiller William Grant &
Sons, which operates the Girvan Distillery and the adjacent Ailsa Bay Distillery
in Ayrshire, has been upping the green there in recent years by installing GE equipment
onsite that generates flexible and cost-efficient electricity and also reduces carbon
emissions.

Grant’s and GE Energy announced that a fourth Jenbacher gas engine will be installed
at the Girvan Distillery, the home of Grant’s Scotch whiskey and Hendricks’s Gin.
The Ecomagination-qualified Jenbacher J620 gas engine will create 3 megawatts of
additional power while reusing CO2 that is normally emitted as waste during the 
manufacturing process. Even cooler, the J620 will operate on biogas created from
residual malt materials used in the distillation process to create alcohol – that’s
some green whiskey!

Grant’s is just one of GE Energy’s global food and beverage industry customers. 
Anheuser-Busch InBev and GE announced a strategic alliance to develop innovative
manufacturing solutions to increase energy [efficiency](https://greenlivingguy.com/2007/12/china-scooters-and-bikes-in-the-energy-crisis/)
and reduce water use at 33 breweries in China. By helping AB InBev understand how
to use installed equipment more efficiently, for example by experimenting with gas
engines to generate electricity using biogas or natural gas, the partners expect
cost savings of $9 million per year and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 150,000 
tons per year. Even more importantly, lessons learned on the brewery floor in China
will be applied to improve efficiency, cut costs and reduce emissions for GE Energy’s
food and beverage customers around the world.

**_Source: General Electric_**