Peconic Bay Winery Goes Large-Scale Solar

Peconic Bay Winery is now using the sun to provide the bulk of its energy through the largest ground-mounted solar panel system ever installed at a Long Island winery.

A 180-paneled, 39.8-kilowatt ground-mounted solar power system was unveiled at an Aug. 25 ceremony held at the winery. The unit, installed by Southampton-based Greenlogic, cost $327,760 with a $97,830 renewable energy incentive rebate from the Long Island Power Authority. The vineyard is also eligible for a 30 percent federal tax credit and a 35 percent depreciation allowance on the system.

Peconic Bay Winery general manager Jim Silver said that the investment will save the vineyard about $15,000 a year, depending on the weather, in traditional energy costs and will power about 75 percent of its day-to-day operations.

Being located in what is widely known as the sunniest area in New York doesn't hurt either, he said.

"I always heard that Cutchogue has the most sunny days of any place in the state," Silver said. "Whether or not that is the case, this is perfect for us."

Established with just a few vines in 1979, Peconic Bay Winery now produces wines such as chardonnay, riesling,  merlot, cabernet sauvigon, and cabernet franc from their 200 acres. Thousands of patrons visit their barn-like tasting room, which opened in 2009, and a real barn on the property houses 18 steel tanks, where the wine is kept just above freezing.

"Most people have no idea how much energy it takes in refrigeration to make wine," Silver said.

Peconic Bay Winery might have the largest array of solar panels on the North Fork, but it's not the first agricultural operation to invest in alternative energy.

Last fall, Paumanok Vinyards in Aquebogue installed a 10,000-kilowatt rooftop solar energy system, funded in large part by a federal grant under the Rural Energy for America Program. Half Hollow Nursery in Laurel unveiled its 121-foot-tall, 100-kilowatt wind turbine — the largest in Long Island's history — this past spring, and local vintners Russ McCall and David Page hired Greenlogic to install wind turbines on their properties.