Watershed winery installs SunPower solar system
Wednesday, 09 April, 2014
Watershed Premium Wines, located in Margaret River, Western Australia, has installed a 149 kW solar power system on a roof shared by the company’s barrel store and wine warehouse.
The high-efficiency system, from SunPower, features 456 E20/327 solar panels with efficiencies of 20%. It is expected to generate approximately 238 MWh of emissions-free electricity each year - the same amount of energy needed to produce approximately 28,000 cases of wine. This will save Watershed $79,000 in energy costs annually and offset electricity use by 30%.
“Winemaking is an energy-intensive business, so installing a high-efficiency and cost-effective SunPower solar system will help lower our overall operating expenses while allowing us to produce finely crafted Australian wines with an even smaller carbon footprint,” said Watershed Managing Director Geoff Barrett. “With a SunPower system designed to produce clean, reliable electricity for the next 25 years or more, this was a low-risk investment that made both economic and environmental sense for us.”
Watershed owns the solar power system, which was installed by Sunwise Electrics, and will claim the associated large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) through to 2030. The winery expects to use solar energy produced by the system to offset electricity consumption from the local network when demand and energy prices are at their peak, especially during vintage.
“Wineries from around the world have chosen SunPower solar technology to reduce electricity costs including Domaine Carneros Winery in the United States, Glenelly Wine Estate in South Africa, Luciano Sandrone Winery in Italy and now Watershed Premium Wines in Australia,” said SunPower Country Managing Director, Australia Chris O’Brien.
Watershed has a commitment to environmentally responsible business practices, having already implemented initiatives to reduce water, raw material and energy consumption, improve wastewater management and install an energy-efficient refrigeration system
Partnership brings innovative fuel solutions to Gippsland
A study by European Energy Australia and Opal at the latter's Maryvale Paper Mill will assess...
Data centres — a missed opportunity for sustainability
The question is no longer whether we need data centres, but how we plan, locate and govern...
Sodium-ion battery may provide greener energy
Scientists say sodium-ion batteries may be the answer to the future of sustainable energy storage...
