Schlafly Bottleworks Goes Solar

I love green-brewery stories and this time its from Schlafly:

By the end of September 2012, we will have completed installation of a new 25kW PV (photovoltaic) solar array on the roof of our Schlafly Bottleworks Brewery and Restaurant. While we have been considering solar for a few years, and while different incentives have made it more appealing to do, we continually opted to hold off and use the money for other capital projects. Luckily, the wait paid off!

Not only have the incentives remained available, but the cost of PV systems has plummeted (44%). Same system, modules still made in the U.S. While impressive looking (sorry – you won’t be able to see it on our flat roof, but there will be a digital display indoors across from our retail store), the 108 panel array won’t even produce 2% of the electricity we use at Bottleworks, but every little bit does make a difference. Many arrays of this size have already been installed in the St. Louis area, including our friends at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company and The Civil Life Brewing Company. We’re excited to join the club!

Tech stuff:

• Installer: Microgrid Energy – Clayton, MO
• 25kW Power capacity, 32,000+ kWh expected annual energy production
• 108 modules (panels) installed at a 10° tilt, facing south
• Inverters: Enphase microinverters (each panel has its own inverter to convert DC to utility-grade AC)
• Monitoring system: Enphase Enlighten – Allows lifetime online monitoring and generates monthly e-mailed reports.
• Mounting system: Cooper B-line ballasted (no roof penetrations) 90 mph wind load
• Production equivalencies (Annual): 102 PCs, 764 CFLs, 62 Barrels of oil
• CO2 emissions avoided 1st year: 55,100 LBs
• Life expectancy of system 25-35 years.

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