California Far Niente Winery Goes Solar with ‘Floatovoltaics’
May 29, 2008 by admin
Filed under Installations, Solar News
Nearly 1,000 Floatovoltaic solar panels are secured onto pontoons that float on the irrigation pond in Far Niente’s Martin Stelling Vineyard.
Take nearly 1,000 photovoltaic panels and mount them on 130 pontoons floating in a Napa Valley irrigation pond, and what do you have?
A first-of-its-kind solar power array and the latest example of why Northern California’s wine industry - with its scores of entrepreneurs and mavericks - is a leader in embracing solar power.
Representatives of the Far Niente Winery in Oakville pointed out the unique aspects of a $4.2 million solar venture during a tour Wednesday in advance of today’s ceremonial unveiling of the project.
In addition to the 994 floating panels, 306 panels are mounted on an acre of land nearby.
All told, the water- and land-mounted solar array can produce up to 477 kilowatts at peak output - providing more than 100 percent of Far Niente’s electrical needs. It provides power to the historic winery (built in 1885), the tasting room, a carriage house with a collection of classic cars, a commercial kitchen, expansive azalea gardens, fountains, irrigation pumps and 40,000 square feet of wine-aging caves that are three football fields long.
