I visited the Far Niente winery in Napa Valley recently and tasted some of the best wine I've ever had. But that wasn't the best part of my short trip there—on the way out, I saw 1,000 solar panels floating on water.
They call it Floatovoltaics, solar panels that float on a small pond on pontoons. Installed two years ago, the system at its peak supplies 400 kilowatts of power, enough to meet all the winery's electricity needs and then some—the surplus is fed (donated, not sold) into the grid.
They chose the pond because the vineyard's land, needed for growing grapes, was too precious, but the benefits of using the pond far exceeded everyone's expectations. American Recycler explains:
Panels float on water which is a natural heat sink and they remained cooler than land-mounted panels for an unexpected increase in electricity production. The winery found they no longer had to put chemicals in the pond to control algae - saving in labor and cash, and keeping chemicals out of the water. They also had much more water than ever before for irrigation.
Far Niente doesn't compost, but it does give its grape skins to a local guy who does, it runs its farming vehicles on biodiesel, and while it doesn't certify its wines organic, it makes a point not to spray pesticides unless absolutely necessary—as our guide said, while they avoid chemicals as much as possible, they'd rather spray one year than lose an entire season's crop.
