Pacific Power Management, LLC (PPM) has installed the largest solar power plant in Monterey County, California, at the Gonzales Winery, owned by Constellation Wines U.S. (CWUS). The 1-megawatt (mW) power plant will generate over 1,700,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which is about half of the winery's total energy requirements.
The system is projected to reduce the facility's carbon emissions by 1.6 million pounds of CO2, 1,636 pounds of SO2, and 2,909 pounds of NO2.
The power plant is comprised of PPM's proprietary aluminum racking system, 6,358 solar panels and two inverters. The system is monitored by SolarWatch, PPM's real-time monitoring system. Constellation Wines U.S. buys the power generated from the system through a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with PPM, which owns and operates the system.
The companies will hold a dedication ceremony for the Gonzales Winery solar power plant in the fall of 2009.
Gonzales Winery joins a host of other California growers, processors and wineries to add solar power to their businesses over the past year.
