Napa, Calif. (May 8, 2014) ─The Hess Collection Napa Green-certified winery and distribution warehouse in American Canyon where Hess Select wines are produced has added a new roof-mounted solar power system which will provide nearly all the energy needs of the winery.
SolarCraft, based in Novato and Sonoma, designed and installed the 649 kW array covering 44,555 square feet and consisting of 2,200 Hanwha Solar 295-watt solar panels, reducing the winery’s carbon footprint and stabilizing utility costs. The system is expected to generate 945,450 kilowatt hours of energy annually, and is likely to provide 100 percent of the winery’s annual energy consumption. The new system will produce enough energy to power the needs of 148 average homes, reducing greenhouse gasses by about 272 tons. Over the next three decades of the system’s use, the reduction in harmful emissions would be the equivalent, according to SolarCraft, of eliminating almost 16 million miles of driving.
The Hess Collection will also be adding solar systems to the winery’s historic home on Mount Veeder, where The Hess Collection tier of wines is produced. A leader in sustainability for nearly three decades, The Hess Collection is certified sustainable by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance and for both winery and vineyards as part of the Napa Green program created by the Napa Valley Vintners. The winery operates under Founder Donald Hess’s directive to “nurture the land, return what you take” which he first observed upon arriving as a grower in Napa Valley in 1978.
