California-based solar system designer Thompson Technology Industries, Inc. (TTI) designed an innovative floating photovoltaic solar system for Napa Valley wine producer Far Niente. The "FloatovoltaicTM" solar array, installed by SPG Solar, saves valuable vineyard acreage from being sacrificed for land-mounted arrays.
The Floatovoltaic system involved securing nearly 1,000 Sharp solar panels on pontoons, then floating the pontoons on the winery's vineyard irrigation pond. Combined with a section of an additional 1,300 panels located on land adjacent to the pond, the array is generating 400 kilowatts at peak output.
About one acre of vineyard was removed to accommodate the land-mounted portion of the system, but the floating array's positioning on the pond saved another three-quarters of an acre of valuable Cabernet vines.
Far Niente and sister winery, Nickel & Nickel, join a small, but quickly growing contingent of Napa Valley wineries who are adopting solar power at a rate estimated to be more than 40 times faster than California businesses in general, according to Dan Thompson of Novato, California-based SPG Solar.
