MARSHALL – The Dark Horse Brewing Company, in conjunction with The Green Brewery Project and CBSi Solar, will begin installing the largest solar electric farm of any brewery in the United States east of the Mississippi River.
Contractors Building Supply-Solar is located in Copemish, MI, and has been in the solar business for nearly 40 years.
The Green Brewery Project is a non-profit consulting venture that seeks to offer creativity in energy and water systems analysis to help craft breweries enhance their sustainability.
Dark Horse is purchasing more than 140 Michigan-assembled solar photovoltaic (PV) panels to cover about 6,000 square feet of the current production facility roof. The panels will produce approximately 49,000 kilowatt hours of DC power, or approximately 10% of the total brewery and taproom?s energy needsroughly equivalent to the power needed for 5 average households. The average anticipated energy cost savings will be approximately $6,000 per year based on current rates.
In addition, Dark Horse anticipates having the ability to view real-time monitoring of electricity
production from the solar panels via the computer network operating the system. On a clear day during
periods of low energy demand, excess electricity generated by the panels will flow into the grid and
assist in powering nearby homes and businesses.
