Oregon winery plants solar energy farm

EUGENE, Ore. - The wine grape harvest will soon be in full swing at King Estate Winery.

In just a couple of months, they'll be very busy with a different kind of crop: solar energy.

"I think it's something we have to think about as we go forward and fossil fuels become more scarce," said Ed King, CEO of King Estate CEO.

Among the millions of grapes still to be picked, aluminum vines are taking root. Crews are building the pieces of what will be a solar energy farm, the largest such system at a winery in the Northwest.
 
It has been King's dream to do this for 5 years.

"Just as the same way a vineyard collects sun to make grapes, we're collecting sun here to make some energy for the community," he said.

More than 4,100 solar panels will generate enough juice to power up 100 homes for a year.

Derek Cropp is the team leader on the project for Solar City.

"How's the dirt look?" King asked Cropp.

"Uh, the dirt?" Cropp said, caught off guard.

"That's a farmer question," King said.

"It's nice clean dirt," Cropp said. "It's amazing these posts went in nice and easy."

Rick Crinklaw of Lane Electric Co-Operative is excited about the energy the project will produce.

"It's another project that allows us to add to our renewable resource portfolio and we look to the future," he said.

Over the next quarter century, the power generated by these panels will keep 38 million pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air.

Cropp said the first of the solar panels won't arrive until late this month, and power won't be produced on site until mid-December.

The cost? $5 million to $6 million. But an Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit covers half the cost.

King stressed the winery gets no tax benefit from the credit, only the chance for him to be a solar pioneer. 

"It won't be long before we feel that it's (solar panels) as integral in the landscape as a vineyard trellis or a fence," he said.