Story Published: May 21, 2009 at 9:48 PM PST
Story Updated: May 21, 2009 at 9:48 PM PST
But on a sunny day like Thursday, wouldn't it be nice if you could use the power of the sun to run your wine business?
That's exactly what Camas Prairie Winery in Moscow is doing.
It takes a lot of juice to keep the imported beers and chilled wines ice cold in the winery. That's where a big array of solar panels on the roof of the winery in downtown Moscow pay off.
"I'm very happy with the way this turned out. It's beyond my expectations actually," said Eco Depot General Contractor Bruce Gage. "It's producing more power than I anticipated and I think we’ll see downstream costs better than what Stu and Sue were anticipating as well."
Gage's company, Eco Depot out of Spokane, was the general contractor on the project. It was funded in part by a a grant from the USDA Rural Energy for America Program, a tax credit from the feds, incentive from Avista Utilities and an investment by the owners, Stu and Sue Scott.
"You know it's great, it's the collaboration of about two years’ worth of work," said Stu Scott. "It's nice to see a project come together successfully and it's nice to share that with the community and say 'hey I'm a resource and I think what I did was certainly good for me, good for my business, good for the community, now let me do the same'."
The panels are providing some 20 percent of the power the winery needs. Scott said it was only natural for him and his wife to go in this direction.
"Not only does it save me money in the long run, but it diverts Avista from having to build another dam, which is a hot issue with the salmon. You don't have to burn coal. It just makes good sense for all of us," said Scott. "I think this is the way that we're going to get back as a society to being more energy conscious and not be as free and as spendy with resources. I think this is the smart wave and the wave of the future."
Gage said projects like this are indeed the wave of the future. And it’s a green.
"The federal stimulus money hasn't really been recognized yet, but we think it's downstream," said Gage. "The biggest deal is the federal income tax credit That's a big incentive. And Avista is also supporting the project."
There were all sorts of folks on hand to celebrate the sun connection Thursday. USDA presented the Scotts with a plaque.
Scott said tapping into solar is part of he and his wife’s overall way of doing things in an earth-friendly way.
"We've been doing it as best as we could for a long time, in the way that we make wine, the bottles, packaging and the way we clean our equipment," said Stu Scott. "Every time we've had a choice, if there's something that makes good business sense, we're going to do the environmentally sound, right thing."
