There are a couple things I check religiously on a daily basis:  Google Analytics to see how many people are visiting our website, our online store for new orders, and now our solar power production.

Here at the winery we have a 250kw photovoltaic solar panel installation that supplies approximately 70-80% of our regular energy needs.  The panels cover the entire roof of our cellar and we have plans for more installations as we build more buildings.  More roof space = more green energy!

We are committed to renewable energy as it is an integral part in being a sustainable farming operation.  Being ‘green’ is more than just a trend at LangeTwins.  We strive to be as sustainable as possible because we are multi-generational, and we want the next generation to have a better environmental outlook than that of today.  Using green energy, like solar panels, helps us achieve that goal.

Check out the graph below to see how solar panel production works at our winery.  You’ll notice how power production increases as the sun shines brighter, peaking around midday, and slowly tapering off towards dusk.  Through a website which tracks data from our solar installation, I can see how efficient our panels are working on an quarterly-hour basis.

An important thing to consider is that even on a cloudy day, we are still producing energy – just not at the same levels.  On many days, we are actually sending excess power back to the grid, helping to power other businesses and homes around the area.

In addition to the winery, we have solar panels covering the viticulture office and shops which power the farming operation on site as well as the family homes.  Smaller installations at a variety of vineyard pumps are also producing green energy.

These efforts are all part of our sustainability mission at LangeTwins Winery and Vineyards.  Think green when you think LangeTwins!

Tags: green, renewable, solar, Sustainability

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Sustainability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.