If you were a fan of that brown bottle with green and yellow labeled beer, you have another reason to be happy. Sierra Nevada beer company is putting up final touches to going 100% green. They are adding Solar panels to the fuel cells that provide most of the brewery's energy now. The brewery has four fuel cells operating 70 to 75 percent of the facility's power, Sustainability Coordinator Cheri Chastain said. This summer they have been in the process of adding solar panels. In a few short weeks the solar panels will be operational. With the added solar panels the brewery will be approaching 100 percent self-sufficiency. After the panels' installation the plan is to add additional solar panels in order to be completely self-sufficient when the sun is up, during peak hours, Chastain said.The solar panels are located on the east side of the facility, covering three acres of the parking lot, providing energy to the facility along with covered parking for the employees, Chastain said. PG&E's Self-Generation Incentive Program is providing incentive costs to help fund the project. When the project is complete and successfully operational the brewery will receive a refund from PG&E. If you are interested, also check the California Energy Commissions offering.
Natural or bio-gas (Methane is a by product of beer production) is fed to the Fuel Cell , where hydrogen gas is extracted and combined with oxygen from the air to produce electricity, heat, and water. Heat is then recovered and used to heat water for brewing and the electricity is used throughout the brewery. Fuel Cells are efficient, quiet, and produce extremely low emissions.
In addition to Solar Panels and Fuel Cells, Sierra Nevada Beer company has been busy keeping the environment clean with recycling, heat recovery, CO2 recovery, and byproduct recycling.
I think I will order a Sierra Nevada next time I visit the neighborhood Pub.
I was lead to this news by Jennifer Barker at Paradise post.
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