Young Henrys brewery in Newtown installed its second solar system in early February thanks to the generosity of its community and the clean energy movement Pingala.
A 68.6kW solar PV system is now operating on the roof of the Young Henrys warehouse opposite the tasting bar and brewery. The system was funded by the community who love Young Henrys and invested in the Pingala Cooperative, which offers a 5-8 per cent annual dividend to members/shareholders.
Young Henrys launched its expressions of interest in May 2021 via its Beer Club newsletter and Pingala recorded 98 responses in just three hours of the release, which led to a 250 per cent oversubscription in its latest solar project. Oscar McMahon, Co-Founder of Young Henrys, believed people would be keen to invest and was very pleased with the result.
The inner-west brewery installed its first solar panels in 2016 with 74 of its most devoted beer lovers and community members investing in the then newly formed Pingala, a move backed by Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney and Jenny Leong, Member for Newtown in the NSW Parliament.
The initiative raised $17,500 in nine minutes by raffling share packet investments in Pingala.
April Crawford-Smith, Co-Founder of Pingala, says, “This [most recent Young Henrys] oversubscription is a constant reminder that people are so keen for these types of projects, putting their money where their heart is and supporting community beverage sites they truly love.”
Richard Adamson, Co-Founder of Young Henrys, has been supporting the solar project from the inside and had a quiet confidence in the team’s ability to raise the capital required to make it happen. Installation was undertaken by Solargain and the new system was launched at a photo and beer event at the brewery (completely powered by the sun) on February 10.
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Young Henrys is at 78 Wilford Street Newtown. It is an eclectic group of passionate brewers, distillers, musicians and artists, united for the love of good beer, cider and gin which has served locals and others since 2012.
