May 30 2008

Energy Snobs

Wineries are developing a palate for energy efficiency and clean energy, looking into some pretty innovative ways to leverage their facilities and surroundings to realize energy savings. And, with 1,100 wineries in the state of California, which collectively produce 500 million gallons of wine, the movement can have a huge impact on California's energy use.

As reported in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle, the Far Niente winery in Oakville recently covered their irrigation pond with a floating solar installation, designed and installed by SPG Solar of Novato, using the "Floatovoltaic" technology developed by Thompson Technology Industries Inc.

Not only will the Floatovoltaic arrays provide the winery with up to 447 kw of clean renewable energy, it is also likely to result in less water loss due to evaporation, according to the article, and less algae growth. Dividends.

In related news, PG&E's own Emerging Technologies group is also working with wineries to help them realize energy savings through energy efficiency. The team conducted two studies at two major yet-to-be-named NorCal wineries that show that the use of a European technology called electrodialysis in the process of eliminating tartaric acid in wine is 99 percent more efficient than the refrigeration process regularly used, called cold stabilization. To put a finer point on it, that's 8 watt-hours per gallon v. 22-1,200 watt-hours per gallon.

As such projects become more and more feasible through financing mechanisms and rebates, hopefully more California wineries will get snobby on their energy use -- and pass on the savings. Cheers to that!

Posted by: Katie Romans | Comments (0) digg delicioussend to a friendprint entry

 

Categories

Energy

Leave a comment


E-mail this post


Your Name:
Your Friend's Email:

Subscribe to Blog rssIcon

> Go

Recent Comments

  • This is being rather generous to Lutz. 1. The "Volt", in no small part, will be targeted as a product to people who care about energy and environmental issues. These people don't embrace Lutz' antideluvian concepts of rejecting science. How responsible is it for a GM executive to be rejecting the science? 2. As well, Lutz didn't exactly sound too enthusiastic about the Volt itself. 3. And, GM public communications has 'defended' Lutz in rather absurd ways. -A Siegel
    > view entry


  • This article is right on - small businesses have a huge role to play in sustainability. Not only do they add up in aggregate, but many small businesses operate in industries that can have a significant environmental impact depending on the exact practices, like dry cleaners, auto repair shops, etc. Green is also starting to affect the bottom line more and more, customers are increasingly voting with their feet for more sustainable businesses as can be seen from the growth of sites like http://www.ecovian.com. This is also a huge opportunity for small businesses to leapfrog their bigger brothers by being more agile in adopting these measures. -Emily
    > view entry


  • Great entry, Katie. Love the level of detail you managed to get in there! Probably won't be able to compete with coal and oil any time the next decade, but definitely a great technology to look into! Keep it up :) -Rune (Norway)
    > view entry


Recent Posts