Harvesting the Sun with Solar Energy

Tolosa Estate Winery showed its commitment to energy savings with the installation of a Sun Power high efficiency 539-killowatt (a 640 horsepower equivalent) ground mounted sun tracking system in August 2009.

Encompassing a 33,583-square-foot area adjacent to the winery, the system uses 2,508 high-efficiency Sun Power solar panels installed on Sun Power T0 Trackers. The Trackers use a GPS system to track the sun during the day increasing energy capture by up to 25% over fixed-tilt systems while significantly reducing land use requirements. The system will produce enough power to offset 90 to 95% of the winery’s electricity demand.

Tolosa Winery’s system generates the most power during the times of day when electricity demand and utility rates are at their peak. Excess electrical power is delivered back to PG&E’s utility grid for use by other PG&E customers.

According to conversion formulas provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Tolosa’s solar system is expected to displace more than 32 million pounds of carbon dioxide (smog emissions) over the next 30 years. This is equivalent to the emissions displaced from removing more than 2,600 cars from California’s roads. A Sun Power performance monitoring system provides regular updates regarding the amount of kilowatt hours of solar power currently generated by the system and the equivalent environmental benefits. View the Live Performace Monitor!

Tolosa has always maintained a commitment to the future with regard to the stewardship of the land. “It makes sense to use the clean, renewable resource of the sun to power our business. This goes hand in hand with our sustainability practices in our vineyards”, commented Bob Schiebelhut a principal at Tolosa. Fellow Tolosa partner and friend Jim Efird added, “We are now part of the culture that is making a difference… one kilowatt and one customer at a time.”