1 of 2
BOV
Burrowing Owl's total solar contribution will be equivalent to 220,000 kWh/year.
2 of 2
St Hubertus
St. Hubertus has installed 42 solar panels.
Many wineries have already made the connection between making great wine and taking a sustainable approach to winegrowing.
Putting this idea into practice is not only the responsible thing to do, but it also makes mighty good business sense. In a presentation at the 17th Annual Enology and Viticulture Conference in Penticton, Kellie Garcia, Program Manager of Sustainable Winegrowing British Columbia (SWBC), tackled the topic of “Using Energy Efficiently: Cost Savings & Environmental Benefits.” Garcia also provided examples of four Okanagan wineries that have recently implemented specific programs and practices to optimize energy consumption and reduce energy costs.
Kellie Garcia
Kellie Garcia, Program Manager of Sustainable Winegrowing British Columbia.
“Using energy more efficiently is the primary goal of sustainable winegrowing,” says Garcia. The next question for Garcia is asking why you would want to do it.
Considering that making wine is an energy-intensive process, making even small targeted improvements can snowball into significant benefits for the enterprise.
For example, reducing consumption of water and other materials or improving the longevity of equipment is an opportunity to enhance the profitability and productivity of a winery as well as lower its environmental footprint, according to Garcia.
“The first step is knowing where you use energy,” she says. Referring to the pioneering “Guide to Energy Efficiency in Australian Wineries: Energy Best Practices,” Garcia listed the main categories:
- Refrigeration uses 40-60% of energy
- Pumps, fans and drives 10-35%
- Lighting 8-20%
- Compressed air 3-10%
- Packaging and bottling 8-30%
- Other like presses, high pressure cleaners and deep steamers 3-15%
“Adjusted for Canadian conditions, it is an excellent aid that lets wineries target limited resources to increase energy efficiency,” Garcia explains.
“The best way to do this is by conducting an energy assessment using forms, educational resources and training which are available online on the SWBC website,” she says. “It is something you can do yourself by doing a walk through to identify drafts and machinery requiring routine maintenance.” Or, delve deeper by “bringing in a professional auditor.” This method takes a comprehensive look at all areas of the operation that affect energy efficiency, considering such issues as:
- Are tanks, pipes and buildings well-insulated?
- Use of efficient motors with variable frequency drives
- Using new lighting technology to cut costs.
- Looking at potential improvements to the operating systems to reduce waste.
- Benefits and costs of investing in capital equipment upgrades.
“Already used in commercial kitchens and restaurants, Energy Management System (EMS), a new, emerging technology, is being adapted to the needs of smaller scale winery operations,” Garcia says. “It is a single control computer system that makes smart decisions for the operator on energy use depending on day, time and weather conditions. It also provides a dashboard display for current and historical data and allows smart phone access. It can even divert waste energy to heat hot water or generate electricity in certain systems.”
Garcia has provided several examples of Okanagan wineries putting into practice energy efficiency improvements as promoted by SWBC:
To offset electricity costs, St. Hubertus Estate Winery in Kelowna installed 42 solar panels on the roof of the winery in April 2016. According to winery co-owner Leo Gebert, it produced twice the energy required over the summer. Still to be determined is the question of how much will be saved in winter. “Enormous reductions in price make solar panels more affordable now than a decade ago”, says Gebert. Other pluses include: being able to track energy use and savings online using a dashboard; and coming to a net-metering and billing agreement with FortisBC to allow return of energy to the grid.
Andrew Peller Limited Winery in downtown Kelowna won the 2016 FortisBC Industry in Action Award by upgrading two existing natural gas boilers with three high efficiency Cleaver Brooks condensing boilers. After six months of use, “the upgrades saved enough natural gas to heat the water for 23 single-family homes for a year," says Garcia, greatly exceeding initial targets.
As part of new construction that is now underway at the Burrowing Owl (BOV) in Oliver, the winery is installing three separate and sizable solar electric systems totalling 451 panels, the equivalent of 220,000 kWh/year, which will offset carbon emissions by 115 tons/year.
The cellar expansion at the north end of the winery will add 70 panels, each producing 310-volts of electricity, on 3,350 sq. ft. of open roof-top space.
A parking lot shade structure where 12 cars would normally park will have a roof supporting 220 solar panels to produce 25,770 kWh/year.
Expansion of the winery’s main warehouse in the town of Oliver will add 161 solar panels on the south-facing portion of the roof. “Since the energy produced will match the energy used, this facility will have a zero carbon footprint,” says the winery.
This is the second phase of BOV’s efforts to use renewable solar energy. In 2006, the winery made an investment into solar hot water panels to produce hot water for barrel washing and other cellar related cleansing functions. It produces an excess of hot water, which is dumped into the swimming pool to the delight of guest-house guests.
House of Rose in East Kelowna strives to provide a sustainable wine product. Using a grant from the Live Smart BC Small Business Champion Program and their own funds, the winery made several upgrades to their 3,000 sq. ft. building, reducing energy usage by almost half. These enhancements include installing an air source heat pump, adding several insulation improvements to the building envelope, creating a separate, warmer area for fermentation, and upgraded lighting and fans. ■
The BC Wine and Grape Council Sustainable Committee, a team of local professionals and specialists, founded SWBC 8 years ago to identify and promote sustainable practices for grape growing, wine production, and winery hospitality services “to support a viable, competitive and continually improving wine industry.” Adapting sustainability programs from other winegrowing regions and input from the BC wine industry, they created a unique made for BC sustainability program.
