Through
its commitment to provide on-site solar power, Frog’s
Leap Winery has reinforced its belief that thoughtful ecological
decisions are also good business decisions. In February of 2005,
the winery essentially “flipped the switch” becoming
100% solar powered and thereby joining a growing list of concerned
businesses committed to reducing the environmental impact of
conventional power sources.
Photovoltaic panels collect sunlight that is then converted
to a clean and renewable energy source. By capturing more electric
power than what is needed by the business, the photovoltaic
panels have the benefit of “net metering” which
allows the business to sell excess electricity back to the power
company for credit and thereby becoming an energy provider.
Our 1020 photovoltaic panels on 1/2 acre of vineyard space
Our Solar Energy Stats:
Our System
• 1020 photovoltaic panels on 1/2 acre of vineyard space
• South-East facing panels with 5-degree angle
• System lifetime equals 30 years
Output
• 168 kw/day
• 450,000 kw hours electricity/yr
Winery Use
• 65 kw/day runs 100% needs
• Excess “feeds back” into PG&E grid
Equivalency (Over the 30-year lifetime of panels)
• Reduction in fossil fuel emission, CO2 by 1600 tons:
equal to the planting of 450 acres of trees, or not driving
4 million miles
• Peak daytime hours produce enough electricity to power
150 homes
Financial impact
• Cost of project $1.2 million
• PG&E rebate of 50% or $600,000
• System fully pays for itself in 6 years
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