Solar Heating in the Winery
At Cortes de Cima, instead of just hiding from Alentejo’s abundant sunshine, we have decided to harness it. 56 square meters of solar panels top our southern facing roof, combined with a thermal tank of 5.000 liters to supply the winery with all the hot water we need. These solar collector panels each have a capacity of about 2 kilowatts (at a solar radiation of 1.000 watts per square meter).
In addition to our solar water heating system we have installed energy-saving lights and have insulated our walls and roofs with urethane foam, to reduce our energy consumption.
Our solar system has been financed solely by private funds. As a way to get the solar power movement going, the state of California under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegge r rewards private industry funding of solar power installations with cash rebates and tax incentives. Furthermore, any excess electrical energy can be sold to the regions grid. As a result, the Californian winery industry has flocked to Solar Power. If only Portugal could imitate the Californian Governator’s green example, the sooner we could achieve our aim of total self-sufficiency through solar power in all our energy needs here at Cortes de Cima.
July 16th, 2008
Que grande ideia!
O que me deixa triste é as condições que nós temos e que não aproveitamos.
Abraço
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José Eduardo Reply:
July 16th, 2008 at %1:%Jul %p
Miguel, obrigado pelo comentário, não podia ser mais verdade. Cump. José Eduardo
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July 24th, 2008
This is a fantastic news.
Since change happens one step at a time, glad to see Cortes da Cima, as one Portugal’s top mavericks lead by example.
Kudos to the team.
[Reply]
Carrie Jorgensen Reply:
July 24th, 2008 at %1:%Jul %p
That’s very true, Moses, and we are also conscious that our team can’t just rest on our ‘kudos’, but need to keep innovating to cut our energy and water use in the winery and vineyard.
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July 27th, 2008
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