Beer Distributor, Point Pleasant Goes Solar (NJ)

[jpak]

http://www.solarbuzz.com/News/NewsNAPR736.htm

Point Pleasant Distributors of Wall Township, New Jersey have completed the installation of a 102.9 kilowatt solar electric system located on Point Pleasant’s roof. The new system will spare the air 154,000 lbs of CO2, 1300 lbs of sulfur dioxide annually and is equivalent to planting 38 acres of trees. It will generate enough electricity to run twelve average homes.

Point Pleasant Distributors is a distributor for SABMiller, Heineken USA, Diagio, Scottish Newcastle, Anchor Steam*, Long Trail, and High Falls Brewery for Ocean and Monmouth counties.

The photovoltaic system was installed by Jersey Solar of Lambertville, NJ and Fai-Gon Electric of Piscataway, NJ, and contained 490 PowerLight /Sunpower 210 watt PowerGuard modules and a 100 kW Satcon inverter. The system will generate an average of 100,000 kwhrs annually and is interconnected and net metered with JCP&L, the local electrical distribution company.

Ted Wardell, Point Pleasant’s CEO said “The electricity that the solar panels generate will go a long way towards running Point’s large refrigeration units that are used to keep its beer cold. The new electric system will produce the most electricity during warm sunny summer days when electricity is most expensive and when our company’s refrigeration units need it the most. With the help of a 30% Federal tax credit, a NJ Clean Energy Program rebate and sale of Solar Renewable Energy Credits, Point Pleasant Distributors expects a six year payback period for the system”

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* yum!!!1111

[monmouth]

1. Wow, I'm in Florida now but used to live in Manasquan. Husband had a

bar and restaurant and know Point Pleasant Distributors very well (Leggett's). Good for them...

[Porcupine]

2. Hey, Sierra Nevada runs it's whole plant on a fuel cell...

A model of efficiency: How Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has gone from beer pioneer to energy pioneer

The technologies and systems Sierra Nevada has employed to make the brewery as efficient as possible are among the most comprehensive and innovative that can be found anywhere. Nowhere is that more evident than in the four 250-watt direct fuel cell power plants the company purchased on Dec. 15, following a year-long cooperative trial period. It is one of the largest fuel cell installations in the country, and the one megawatt of power it generates meets most of the brewery's demand.

Fuel cells are complicated machines, and direct fuel cells even more so. During a recent phone interview, Grossman tried to explain the process in layman's terms: "Gas contains hydrogen, which is acquired from our wastewater treatment system; the hydrogen is then turned into electricity. ... Our goal is to feed fuel cells as much carbon-neutral gas as we can supply."

The company's Web site (www.sierranevada.com) carries a more detailed explanation: Sierra Nevada's direct fuel cells are unlike most fuel cell generators in that they do not require that hydrogen gas be provided as a fuel source. Instead they separate hydrogen from either natural gas or the gas produced in wastewater treatment ("bio-gas"), then combine it with oxygen from the air to produce electricity, heat and water--and virtually no pollution. At the brewery, the heat is recovered and used to heat water for brewing.

http://www.sierranevada.com/environment.html

They make dang good beer too. Here in Chico they still sell it at a $1 a pint in most bars for happy hour. This is one application where fuel cells are exactly right because the waste heat goes straight into the bottling plant.