Renowned vintners Williams Selyem Winery announced this week the opening of a new winery in Healdsburg, California. Notable green features of the new 28,000 square foot facility include a green roof of native grasses and a solar PV system, as well as a solar thermal system installed by SunWater Solar. The system is powered by 14 solar thermal collectors that will heat approximately 650 gallons of water per day with clean, renewable energy from the sun. The winery will use this hot water to clean barrels, tanks, equipment and floors, and also to sterilize wine bottles.

A solar thermal system is an astute investment for wineries, which, like breweries, require large quantities of hot water in their operations. Utility bills associated with heating this water can be a major financial burden that puts wineries at the mercy of volatile fuel prices. Wineries that rely on natural gas or electricity for water-heating can immediately achieve substantial savings on fuel costs by adopting solar thermal. For “off the grid” wineries that heat water with propane, the savings are even greater because propane is even more expensive than natural gas.

SunWater Solar wishes to congratulate Williams Selyem on the completion of their new winery, and thank them for choosing us to build their solar thermal system.