Fort George Brewery goes Solar-Powered, and touts Sustainable and Green Energy Programs

Astoria, Oregon’s growing Fort George Brewery has installed the largest solar array on the Oregon Coast, and largest ever single-building private solar project in the state.

More from a press release: Fort George opened its doors on Duane Street in Astoria, Oregon in 2007 with less than a dozen employees and a refurbished 8.5 barrel brewhouse. After over a decade and a half of growth, they now produce over 32,000 barrels (or roughly 9 million pints) of beer per year and are one of the largest independent employers in Astoria with over 150 employees. Fort George Beer is distributed all over the Pacific Northwest but our home and our community is in Astoria. 

Fort George says they have prioritized the community since their inception. “We’ve worked hard to grow in a way that is sustainable and responsible to our community, our environment, and the people and organizations who rely on our support,” writes marketing manager Kirstin Pierce.

In 2019, Fort George expanded into a 67,000 square foot former can manufacturing plant on Astoria’s waterfront. This facility houses their production brewery (tanks and equipment repurposed from Bridgeport Brewing in Portland) and their Fort George distribution company which, in addition to supplying the North Coast of Oregon and the Southwest corner of Washington State with Fort George Beer, represents over 50 craft beer, cider, wine and NA beverage brands. With the installation of a new 560kW solar array at the Waterfront facility, a company-wide partnership with 1% for the planet, a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant and grain reuse program and the expansion of the Fort’s hybrid electric sales fleet, Fort George says they are committed to sustainable improvements and practices which benefit our employees, our environment and their community.

THE LARGEST SINGLE-BUILDING PRIVATE SOLAR ARRAY in the state of Oregon

In June the installation of 1,155 solar panels began on the roof of Fort George’s Waterfront facility in Astoria. The array will be the largest single-building private solar project ever in the state of Oregon and when complete will provide over 70% of the energy needed to power Fort George’s production brewery, canning facility and distribution operations says the brewery. Over the next 35 years, the system is expected to offset carbon dioxide at a level equivalent to planting 207,210 trees or averting the use of the equivalent of one million gallons of gasoline. 

Committing to this installation is a huge undertaking for Fort George, which will shoulder more than half of the 2.4 million dollar cost of the solar installation after generous contributions from Pacific Power’s Blue Sky 2023 Funding Award ($100,000 dollars, over 8% of the total cost of the project) and a one million dollar grant from the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program. Without contributions from REAP and Pacific Power’s Blue Sky Program, this project would not have been possible.

"Pacific Power's Blue Sky participants play a pivotal role in advancing the transition to clean, renewable energy and in providing essential funding for local community-based renewable energy projects. Thank you to Blue Sky Block participants for partly funding the installation of solar panels at Fort George Brewery,” says Berit Kling, senior product manager at Pacific Power.

The generous help and support of US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley were also invaluable to the project. Through REAP, the United States Department of Agriculture provides grants and loans to rural small businesses to purchase wind, solar and other alternative energy improvements that will help businesses strengthen operations, generate income and create jobs. 

Installation is nearly complete and Fort George anticipates the 28,746 sq foot rooftop solar array will start producing renewable energy as early as this fall. When fully operational, the building’s solar array will offset a huge portion of our electricity cost, allowing us to reinvest the proceeds in sustainable infrastructure, our employees and our community. 

EV CHARGERS

Solar technology isn’t the only way the Fort is utilizing alternative energy sources. Since 2020 their fleet of hybrid plug-in electric sales vehicles has made 200,000 miles over 5x more fuel efficient than they would have been if driven by single fuel source ICE vehicles. Many sales and delivery routes throughout the week are driven on an electric charge, saving hundreds of gallons of fuel per year and reducing their carbon footprint significantly. 

At the Pub in Astoria, 4 public charging ports hosted and maintained by the Fort have charged more than 1600 cars this year alone. The Fort is proud to provide an epic place for our customers, visitors and community members to charge up their electric vehicles right in the middle of Downtown Astoria. The charging stations are within walking distance of dozens of restaurants and over a hundred local shops, cafes and museums, making it easy for EV drivers to patronize local businesses while recharging at the Fort.

The view at sunset from Fort George Brewing's waterfront brewery and distribution hub where new solar arrays have been installed

1% FOR THE PLANET - a continuing partnership with local and regional environmental organizations. 

At Fort George, we’re surrounded by water on all sides. We’re proud of our slow-sand filtered Astoria city water and the wild spaces from which it sheds. We couldn’t make beer here without it and we’re dedicated to protecting this priceless resource throughout the Lower Columbia Region. That’s why this year Fort George continues our partnership with 1% for the Planet - donating 1% of all 12oz can sales and 16oz Lager Series sales to local and regional environmental organizations like Elakha Alliance, North Coast Watershed Association, Oregon Agricultural Trust, The North Coast Land Conservancy, and Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership. In 2024 we will donate over $75,000 to local environmentally focused non-profits in addition to our other ongoing partnerships which benefit non-profit organizations in the community. We’re committed to the water that makes our beer delicious, and to the land around us.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Since opening, Fort George has been diverting spent grain and brewing process wastewater from Astoria’s sewers. Through partnerships with local dairy farms, they have been able to provide high quality, nutrient-rich animal feed, reducing the farm’s operational costs and cutting back water treatment needs for all three of their brewing facilities. At the Waterfront facility, the installation of two BioGill Ultra BioReactors further reduces their brewery process wastewater strength to the equivalent of a single residential 4 person home - an over 90% reduction, according to Fort George. Processing our wastewater before it hits the sewer allows them to keep all of the brewery operations within the city of Astoria without overtaxing the aging local infrastructure, while helping local farms thrive. 

“As we continue to grow and build, we do so with the ultimate goal of creating systems and processes which benefit the environment, our employees, and our community. From our smallest changes to large infrastructure investments like the 560kW solar array, Fort George is invested in the health and prosperity of Oregonians. We’re proud to be making some of the best beer in the Pacific Northwest while growing and investing in our sustainable practices, materials and systems,” adds Fort George’s Kirsten Pierce.

Special thanks to: 

Suzanne Bonamici, Congresswoman

Jeffrey A. Merkley, United States Senator

Ron Wyden, United States Senator

David L. Reid, Executive Director Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce

Kevin Leahy,  Executive Director/Associate Vice President CEDR

Jessamyn Grace West, Executive Director Astoria Downtown Historic District Association

Willis L. Van Dusen, President Van Dusen Beverages

City of Astoria

Clatsop County

United States Department of Agriculture - Rural Development 

Pacific Power - BlueSky Program

Advanced Energy Systems 

Premier Electrical Construction, Inc. 

Crockett Carpentry, LLC

Centimark Corporation

Graybar Electric Supply

Square D | Schneider Electric USA

Al Jaques, Fort George Construction Project Manager