We jumped the gun on Earth Day and celebrated a week early with a Green Building Workshop, co-sponsored by California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance and PG&E.

The event opened with a workshop for 60 area vintners, farmers, and industry specialists and included a four hour workshop in addition to a hands-on tour with Randy, Brad, and Phil Pennino of PG&E.

It’s been a great partnership with PG&E and with them, we are committed to being an environmental leader and demonstrating that leadership through our actions.

The tour showed how the winery has utilized energy efficiency and conservation through the facilities by installing high efficiency lighting, chillers, boilers and wine tank insulation that have resulted in a total reduction of almost 3 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year and almost 2,000 therms of natural gas.

We also installed a 230 kilowatt photovoltaic solar system with a potential annual energy generation of 629,625 kWh and a potential annual utility cost savings of $75,555.

It has been a cooperative effort with PG&E, California Winegrape Growers Association, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, and the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission.  Also, Darryl Conklin of Renewable Technology Inc., was instrumental with the design and installation of the bi-facial solar array over the press pad.

A highlight of the CSWA Earth Day celebration was PG&E’s presentation of $968,137 in rebates to LangeTwins Winery for its most recent energy efficiency and solar projects.  We partnered with PG&E’s Savings by Design program.

“Our family has been farming for generations and we want to pass on a sustainable business to the next generation,” said Randy.  “Switching to renewable energies and operating with the environment in mind is part of the equation.”

Thanks to Goff Photography for all the great photos!