Commercial Ground Mount/Canopy

Flora Springs Winery & Vineyards

St. Helena, California

“Upgrading our practices at the winery with solar energy was the next step in ensuring our winery is a viable business that resides harmoniously with the land and community where it exists. Now a year later, the performance of the solar energy has proven to be vital in the continuation of our business.”
Flora Springs President John Komes

What

74 kW custom-designed “canopy” solar system elevated 20 feet in the air

System Performance

• Provides 100,000 kWh of power annually
• Provides 100% of red wine production energy needs
• Doubles as UV-protected storage facility

System Components

435 photovoltaic panels covering 6,500 sq. ft.

Challenges

• To reduce production energy costs
• To maximize solar harvest with limited space
• To use available area, which was minimal, shaded and already in use
• To reflect Flora Springs’ mission of sustainable farming

Solutions

• Generated enough power for 100% of red wine production energy costs
• Custom designed 20’ elevated platform utilizes “unavailable” space
• Raised solar platform literally reaches for the sun above the shade area
• Solar energy is 100% renewable, reduces the winery’s carbon footprint
• Bonus: Under the solar canopy is a UV-protected shaded area for laborers’ work breaks and storage of sun-sensitive equipment

How

With innovative design using stilt-like mountings for the photovoltaic system, allowing the system to be raised to meet the sun rather than sit on the ground in the shade.

Environmental Impact

• Equivalent to powering of 10 average homes
• Eliminates 67 tons of CO2 pollution every year
• Saves $20,000 in annual energy costs

System Components

• 435 Suntech 170W STP170-24/Ab-1 component photovoltaic high efficiency modules containing 72 5” solar cells totaling 31,320 solar cells
• iPower’s® branded PV Powered inverters PVP 30kW-208 and PVP 4600
• Utility: Pacific Gas & Electric