(Credit: Firestone Walker Brewing Company)Firestone Walker Brewing Company, California’s fourth largest craft brewer, has completed one of the largest on-site solar arrays in the craft beer industry – a 2.1-megawatt solar array and 281-kilowatt solar carport on 9.7 acres in Paso Robles, California.
The arrays will generate the majority of the brewery's energy, which is enough to brew and bottle 6 million cases of beer annually. REC Solar and Duke Energy Renewables partnered with the brewery on the renewable energy project.
The on-site solar, single-axis trackers and carports were made possible through the collaboration of two Duke Energy subsidiaries. REC Solar designed and built the solar project, and Duke Energy Renewables provided Firestone Walker financing through a 25-year power purchase agreement.
The solar array, which is located adjacent to the brewery, features ground-mounted single-axis trackers that maximize solar energy production and is projected to generate 4,055 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in its first year. The second 281-kilowatt array consists of a solar carport spanning 14,000 square feet just south of the brewery, increasing the brewery's total solar production to 4,570 MWh of electricity generated in its first year. In its entirety, the solar installation is enough to offset 3,231 metric tons of carbon emissions.
Project planning began in late 2016, with groundbreaking in April 2020. In addition to the solar arrays, the project includes utility substation upgrades that will make it easier for other local organizations seeking to go solar to tap into the power of renewable energy.
