Ballentine Vineyards

Winery Solar Electric Installation Project Profile

SolarCraft both designed and built this 87 kW solar electric system for Ballentine Vineyards in St. Helena, CA. The project integrates both the winery building/tasting room and barrel storage on the property — now powered by the sun.
The system consists of (512) Mitsubishi 170 watt solar panels.

The 6,944 square feet of high capacity solar panels will generate roughly 87 kilowatts peak power. The system will generate enough electricity to virtually eliminate expensive peak-period usage, while also selling excess power back to the local utility company for credit. The credits are sold to the utility company at peak rates and the customer uses them back during nights and winter.

The new system will enable Ballentine Vineyards to generate enough clean electricity each day to power 38 average homes. The new system will spare the air nearly 67 tons of harmful greenhouse gases annually, comparable to planting over 13.5 acres of trees. Over the next 30 years, the air pollution saved will be equivalent to driving over 4.6 million miles.

Customer Profile

Van Ballentine grew up in St. Helena — Ballentine Vineyard's roots run very deep in Napa Valley. Ballentine owns 100 acres of vines spread among the Crystal Springs Vineyard at the base of Howell Mountain, Pocai Ranch between the Napa River and the Silverado Trail and the Home Vineyard at the winery. Ballentine focuses on red varietals; Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. The grapes used for their wines are all 100% estate grown.

Van Ballentine personally manages each vineyard.

"Our main reason for installing a PV system is to eliminate our high electric bills. We are now utilizing clean energy to reduce our costs. Solar energy makes good financial sense and the environmental benefits are an added bonus. The installation went very smoothly, and we are very pleased with the placement and esthetics of the system. SolarCraft exceeded our expectations."
~ Van Ballentine, Owner