Solar Wine! (No, It's Not Like Solar Tea!)

We recently toured Napa Valley during a relatively sunny weekend. And I was impressed with the amount of alternate energy being used there. One vineyard and winery in particular caught my attention. Their solar array in the back of their winery was impressive (I don't drink -- can't for certain medical reasons. But I do enjoy sightseeing, photography, and investigating alternate energy technologies!) So, while my passengers were enjoying the goodies in the tasting room, I was enjoying getting pictures of the scenery and the solar technology--some of which is pictured here. Enjoy!



Solaron Grid-Tie PV Inverter http://www.aesolaron.com/




I did wonder, however, why the winery chose to place their solar panel array on the ground (which could have been used for growing grapes or olive trees or just providing green-space), rather than using it to provide a covered parking lot or placing it on the rooftops of their buildings. I would think that having the arrays used as the covering for a parking lot or on the rooftop would make panel maintenance a lot easier. Also, you wouldn't be risking damage from animals or falling trees and branches during storms. But then, I don't know their reasoning--but I liked what I saw anyway.