Renewable Energy

Several Hesburger restaurants are heated with renewable energy sources such as geothermal heat, wind power, or solar thermal panels.

In recent years, restaurants operating on premises owned by Hesburger have been equipped with solar panels that produce either heat or electricity for the restaurant. Currently, at total of 130 Hesburger restaurants use solar energy in Finland, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Latvia.

In Kaarina, the Hesburger factory is covered in solar panels from wall to roof, and in Estonia, the roof and 30% of the sun-facing wall are fitted with panels. This is a large solar power plant by Finnish standards, and it has 892 panels to harvest solar energy, with an output of 270 kW.

In Latvia, Hesburger restaurants use solar energy extensively. A total of over 1,100 solar panels have been installed across 21 restaurants, producing 470 kWp. This is an important step toward more environmentally friendly and responsible operations.

In Lithuania, Hesburger restaurants use 100% solar energy in cooperation with renewable energy company Green Genius. A new solar farm built in Kalka (Trakai region) covers the entire electricity needs of all Hesburger restaurants in Lithuania and the Kaunas sauce factory, which last year totaled 9.8 GWh. The solar plant has a capacity of 6.16 megawatts and consists of 9,300 solar modules across a 12-hectare area.

Thanks to the plant, approximately 2,500 tons of CO₂ emissions are avoided annually, and its advanced technology ensures optimal energy production throughout daylight hours.

“The Hesburger chain always chooses sustainable, environmentally and climate-friendly solutions whenever possible. In Finland, we have used green wind power for years. In Lithuania, we began installing solar modules on our restaurant buildings a couple of years ago, and since then, through our cooperation with Green Genius, we have transitioned entirely to sustainable solar energy. This is a particularly important step in implementing the company’s social responsibility and sustainability strategy,” says Ieva Salmela, Hesburger’s Director of International Communications and Marketing.

In Finland 1.19 million Solar Hamburgers

In Finland, a restaurant using solar power, an average of 138 hamburgers per hour can be prepared with solar energy on a cloudless day. Altogether, the solar panels installed in Hesburger, Finland, currently produce enough energy to make about 1.19 million hamburgers annually.

In Finland, you can follow the real-time electricity production of Hesburger restaurants’ solar panels either on the home page of our website or on displays located inside the solar-powered restaurants.

Wind Power for Properties

Over 100 Hesburger restaurants, as well as the chain’s central warehouse and factory in Kaarina, use wind-generated electricity. The wind power contracts cover the restaurants and other premises owned by Hesburger’s franchisor, Burger-In Oy.