The GlenAllachie to Cut Energy Use With New Distillation Technology
The GlenAllachie Distillery has announced a major milestone in its sustainability journey, unveiling a pioneering distillation system set to reduce energy usage by over 50% during the wash distillation process.
Supported by the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF), a state-of-the-art Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) system has been installed to capture and recycle waste heat from distillation, using it to reheat the stills. Developed in partnership with Briggs of Burton, the stills are set to fire up again in the coming weeks with this new technology in place. The system is expected to reduce annual carbon emissions by an amount equivalent to the energy consumption of around 825 homes.
The MVR installation is just one of several sustainability initiatives at The GlenAllachie Distillery. These efforts include the distillery’s transition away from natural gas in favor of electricity, partially powered by 144 solar panels installed on site, and the intentional reduction of its production capacity from four million to one million liters of alcohol (LOA) per year, significantly lowering its overall energy demand.
Other efforts include the installation of an energy efficient burner with the ability to be powered by hydrogen fuel, a heat recovery system, bio-gas processing, and electric forklifts in its warehouses. Biodiversity efforts include the maintenance of beehives across the estate, and the use of environmentally conscious packaging such as FSC-approved labels and recyclable glass bottles.
Source: The GlenAllachie.