Introducing the World’s Largest Solar Powered Winery

by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York

Image courtesy of Take Away Festival

The largest solar installation of any winery in the world is set to be built for Constellation Wines’ Gonzalez winery in Monterrey County, CA by Pacific Power Management. Mitsubishi solar panels will cover 170,000 square feet on the winery warehouse roof, and will generate 1,700,000 kilowatt hours a year—enough to power over 50 percent of the winery’s energy needs.

Solar Powered Wine-Making, Solar Powered Living
What’s more, during the summer months when the winery isn’t operating at full capacity (it doesn’t process grapes in summer months), the electricity will be exported in order to power 25 percent of the energy needs of surrounding residential areas—1,695 homes in the city of Gonzalez.

This may very well be the most expansive effort to power a winery with alternative energy (though there are more than a few very green wineries already in operation, and it won't lay claim to the first carbon neutral winery).

Some Solar Powered Winery Stats from Pacific:
The project will purportedly have roughly the same effect on lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the carbon footprint as:

- Planting 2,500 acres of trees
- Preventing an average exhaust producing automobile from driving 25 million miles
- Taking 2083 cars off the road

The installation will offset around 1.6 million pounds of Carbon Dioxide, 1,600 pounds of Sulfur Dioxide, and 2,900 pounds or Nitrogen Oxides annually.

Original here