Mechanical Engineers Pete Ratto, left, and Brandt Cook finish installing solar panels on the roof of David Lucas Winery on Wednesday in Lodi. (Angelina Gervasi/News-Sentinel)

Local winemaker turns to solar power to run winery

David Lucas has long relied on the sun to feed the grapes in his North Davis Road vineyard. Now the local winemaker plans to use those warm rays to power the nearby winery and tasting room.

Workers this week installed 160 solar panels, totaling 1,700 square feet of surface area, on the roof of the converted barn that serves as Lucas' winery. The southward-facing panels will collect energy from the sun and convert it to electricity that will power everything from the winery's complex refrigeration system to the Christmas lights outside.

Lodi's agricultural community has in recent years turned to solar power for irrigation systems, pumps and other farming equipment. When the Lucas Winery goes completely solar in the coming weeks, however, it is believed to be the first time a Lodi winemaker will rely entirely on the power of the sun.

"This winery will be 100 percent solar powered," Lucas said on Wednesday. "The vines have always run on solar power. Now I'll have a winery that runs on the sun."

It's not a cheap investment for Lucas: The equipment and installation will cost $166,000 altogether. With a number of state and federal rebate programs that cater to investment in solar power, however, he believes he'll be able to make that money back in a decade.

"After that, the energy will be free," Lucas said.

The panels sit on metal brackets lining the roof. Each has a wire connected to its bottom side. The wires run together into a main artery that feeds into an inverter sitting along the side of the building.

The inverter turns the AC power from the solar panels into DC power, which is then sent to Pacific Gas & Electric. That company then swaps the energy back to the winery, which is already connected to the power grid.

In essence, Lucas sells his solar power to PG&E, which in turn sells it back to him. The partnership allows Lucas to use extra energy from PG&E when the panels don't provide enough. When the panels give more power than needed, the excess is spread out to other PG&E customers.

"You basically have two sources of power," said Tor Allen, a spokesman with the nonprofit Rahus Institute, which researches renewable energy issues in California. "The grid is always there to make up the difference."

It is one of many programs that give incentives to businesses and homeowners who convert to solar energy. These programs give people incentives to invest in the expensive equipment by offering rebates or discounts once they're installed, said Mark Chandler, executive director of the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission.

Chandler would know: He powers the irrigation system on a 40-acre vineyard he owns with solar energy.

"It's something you'll see more of," Chandler said. "As long as the tax incentives are there, it makes a lot of sense for agriculture to go to solar power."

Most of the businesses that turn to solar power are agricultural in nature, said Brandt Cook, a mechanical engineer for Renewable Technologies Inc., the Sutter Creek-based company that installed Lucas' system. Solar panel systems are a long-term investment, he said. It wouldn't make sense for a business with an unsure future to invest in such a system.

"(Growers) are thinking long-term," Cook said. "The vines are there. They're not going anywhere for a while."

Both the federal government and the California Energy Commission offer rebates for people who install solar energy systems. Most feature financial incentives based on the amount of watts the solar panels produce, Allen said.

Lucas' system will produce 17.5 kilowatts every hour. He already expects to receive up to one-third of the initial cost in rebates once the system is up and running. After that, his savings will come from no longer having to pay the $8,000-$9,000 in energy bills he'd grown accustomed to seeing every year.

He believes more people would be willing to look into using solar power if they could look beyond the initial cost at the potential savings.

"People just aren't that aware of it," Lucas said. "But they're becoming more aware of it."

Though solar power accounts for only a minuscule fraction of California's energy pool, its use has exploded during the past few years with the growth of incentives, Allen said. The state added 80 megawatts of solar power in the past four years, he said. Prior to that, growth was closer to single digits.

Contact Business Editor Greg Kane at gregk@lodinews.com.