February 10th 2007 - Farming Energy

January in Sonoma County was one of the driest and sunniest on record. It may have been incredibly cold at times but the skies were blue and the sun appeared daily: a fitting way to mark our anniversary of being solar powered!

As you know, our commitment to the environment runs deep at Medlock Ames.  Not only do we farm organically but we strive be as sustainable as possible, which is why we invested heavily last year in using renewable energy to power our winery.  Solar power is a fabulous example of longer term sustainable thinking.  The initial investment is large but makes enormous sense when looked at in connection with our ‘hundred year plan’.  We expect that our ‘solar system’ will have paid for itself in eight years or less – and with a predicted thirty years of useful service ahead of them we can look forward to twenty years of massively reduced (or even eliminated!) electricity bills.  Electric vehicles and an electric forklift join the ranks of other 'friendly' vehicles (biodiesel) to make the most of our new economical source of energy.

Benefits that don’t show up on any balance sheet are equally important.  We can eliminate effectively 1,691,374 lbs of CO2 with our system as well as contribute power to our local power grid at peak times when it is needed most. You can also measure this environmental contribution in terms of trees - our system represents the same benefit to the enviornment as almost 15 acres of mature forest. Clean energy is good for everyone and in many respects we can now add ‘energy’ to the growing list of things we farm at Medlock Ames.  Next time you visit the ranch take a walk over to one of our many hi-tech solar arrays that seem (strangely enough) to sit happily next to vines, geese, sheep, olive trees, vegetable gardens and all the various wildlife.  We’ve even seen hawks and owls resting on the solar panels!