Environmental Leader

Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, California is installing a 1.3 megawatt solar power system. The panels will be installed in two phases by Chico Electric and will provide 34 percent of the brewery’s power.

The solar news comes on the heels of the installation of four 250-kilowatt co-generation fuel cell power units – one of the largest fuel cell installations in the U.S., Clean Edge reports.

“With the addition of our solar panels, we are approaching our goal of providing 100 percentof our energy needs with clean on-site alternative energy generation,” said brewery founder and CEO Ken Grossman.

Mitsubishi Electric is providing 6,800 of its 185Wp high-strength, corrosion-resistant modules for the project. Chico Electric completed the first phase of the project on Dec. 31, 2007. The next phase will be finished in June 2008 after construction of a new building on the brewery’s property.Brewers in general have been stepping up green efforts – last fall, Coors announced plans to reduce its emissions by 12 percent while Miller released a report claiming to cut emissions by 10 percent per barrel.