Yealands Estate to turn vine prunings into power

Media Release

19 July 2010

Yealands Estate to turn vine prunings into power

Yealands Estate has received funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) to construct another leading environmental initiative.

The innovative idea is a purpose-built boiler that will turn vine prunings into an energy source at the winery and will see Yealands saving 22 tonnes of LPG a year, meaning Yealands’ total carbon footprint for LPG will be reduced to zero.

Owner and founder Peter Yealands is thrilled to receive the funding which comes little more than a year after the winery received carboNZeroCertTM certification.

Peter says the Yealands Estate Bio-Mass Boiler will be specially designed to heat the winery’s water and glycol - a liquid that is pumped into ‘jackets’ around fermentation tanks to heat or cool the wine.

Previously composted and used as mulch, 10 % of the vine prunings will now be baled after each vintage ready to be placed into the boiler and burnt. The subsequent heat energy will be trapped and used to heat the water and glycol.  The remainder of the prunings will continue to be used as mulch.

“The wine-making business is hugely energy intensive, and heating and cooling wine accounts for roughly 85% of the winery’s total energy consumption. This new initiative is evidence that sustainable wine production is not only possible, it is commercially viable,” says Peter.

“Our mission is to become New Zealand’s most sustainable winery and this is just another step in achieving that goal.”

The Yealands Estate Bio-Mass Boiler is under construction in the US and will be ready to go by the end of the year. 

Yealands other environmental initiatives include solar panels, insulated tanks, wind-powered electricity generators, grazing miniature babydoll sheep as an alternative to tractor mowing, harvesting storm water to irrigate the vineyards around the winery and developing more than 20 wetland areas to preserve native species and attract native birds.

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