Diageo Announces €200M Carbon Neutral Brewery For Newbridge

Up to 1,000 jobs will be created during the brewery's construction.

Diageo has announced plans to invest €200 million in Ireland’s first purpose-built carbon neutral brewery on a greenfield site in Littleconnell, Newbridge.

The new facility will directly create 50 new jobs, while up to 1,000 people will be employed during its construction.

Brewing is due to commence in 2024, and will include lagers and ales such as Rockshore, Harp, Hop House 13, Smithwick’s, Kilkenny and Carlsberg.

When it's fully operational, it will have a capacity of 2 million hectolitres, the equivalent of almost one billion pints a year, and it will be the second largest brewing operation in Ireland after St.James’s Gate.

Diageo has said the brewery will be powered with 100% renewable energy and will harness the latest process technology to minimise overall energy and water consumption.

This will enable the brewery to avoid up to 15,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.

As the production of lagers and ales is transferred to the new facility it will enable St James’s Gate to increase the production of Guinness to meet global demand.

Additionally, it will also support the delivery of Diageo’s Society 2030 commitments by creating the physical space required for the use of renewable technologies at St James’s Gate, said Diageo.

The new brewery will be the first built by the company in Ireland since the 1960s.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and T.D. for Kildare South Martin Heydon has hailed plans announced by Diageo to build a new €200m brewery in Newbridge as a massive vote of confidence in Kildare.

Minister Heydon said: “The facility on this 50ac site will be Diageo’s second largest brewing operation in Ireland after St James’s Gate and in the heartland of where much of the grain for their beers is grown.

“Arthur Guinness was born in Kildare almost 300 years ago. He founded Guinness Brewery at St James’s Gate in 1759 and this new facility, which is due to commence brewing in 2024, will strengthen those Kildare links even further.

“Diageo’s decision to invest in this site in Newbridge is a huge vote of confidence in Kildare South as a location for investment and employment.

"We have a talented, well-educated workforce, many of whom commute to Dublin for work," concluded Minister Heydon.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar TD, said: “We must leave the planet in a better way than we found it.

"Industry has a role to play and I’m really pleased to see Diageo taking the lead and investing in this carbon neutral brewery, which I’m sure will be a leading example for others.”

"It’s also extremely positive for Newbridge and the local economy in Kildare, with up to 1,000 jobs being created during the construction of the site, and 50 once built. I’m sure there will be many indirect jobs too," he added.