Solar energy system: $1,000,000
Last month’s energy bill: $1.19
Reduced carbon emissions: Priceless
What sounds like an advertisement by a well-known financial institution is actually taken from a postcard you can find at Honig Vineyard. In August 2006, the winery threw the switch on its photovoltaic system and has been 100% solar-powered since then. With 819 Sanyo 200-watt modules, the installation was one of the largest in the country when it was installed. Mounted on the ground, the modules generate sufficient power to run the whole winery, including cooling and bottling. This allows Honig to save over $42,000 a year in electricity bills. Not only that: Over the next 30 years, it will prevent over 7.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions (the equivalent of planting more than 34 acres of carbon dioxide-absorbing trees). The economics seem to be working out, according to Michael Honig: