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Thursday, March 1, 2007

Brewing Co. to Open in Moriarty, Fueled by Sun

By Beth Hahn
Mountain View Telegraph
    Roswell has the International UFO Museum and Research Center. Hatch has green chile. Fort Sumner has Billy the Kid. Moriarty will soon have ... solar beer?
    Sierra Blanca Brewing Co., which relocated to Moriarty from Carrizozo in 2006, will add another element to its lineup of beer, soda and cider: solar power.
    Paul Laur, owner of Santa Fe Cider Co., one of about a half-dozen microbrewers who joined Sierra Blanca in the move to Moriarty, said the consortium was looking for ways to reduce carbon emissions, attract tourism and make the business more green.
    Enter Tim Leonard and Precision Solar Technologies of Tijeras. Leonard, who started PST recently and also plans to relocate to Moriarty, found a 50-foot solar collector dish in Arizona that the owner wanted to dispose of.
    Leonard saw an opportunity to install a state-of-the-art dish in a visible location in Moriarty, and was able to get the $250,000-plus piece of equipment in exchange for taking it off the landowner's hands.
    Leonard and Laur say the collector will attract drivers from Interstate 40, Old Route 66 and N.M. 41 and also enable Sierra Blanca to become less dependent on electricity and natural gas.
    Laur said the brewery wants to lower its carbon emissions by reducing the amount of natural gas used to brew each bottle of beer, soda or cider.
    Brewing one bottle of beer produces about a pound of carbon dioxide— one of the main contributors to global warming— by burning the natural gas and as a byproduct of fermentation, Laur said. Eventually, the brewery's carbon emissions could be printed on each label as a way to raise awareness of the company's green goal, he added.
    Currently, the brewery uses natural gas to boil water for its products. Laur said the brewery's monthly natural gas bill is about $800.
    A solar collector will enable the brewery to use heat from the sun to boil water as well as heat and light the building, and possibly charge batteries that will operate lights at night.
    The collector, which resembles a large satellite antenna— or, with some imagination, a hibiscus flower— follows the path of the sun throughout the day and uses several reflectors to concentrate the solar energy to one collection point in the center. At night, the collector rotates upside-down so that the reflectors are pointed at the ground.
    When it is cloudy or overcast, the collector remains upside-down. Hopefully, Leonard said, it will provide enough electricity when it is sunny to negate the effects of overcast days.
    Power generated could also be sold to Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative, said Leonard, which would allow the brewery to make more electricity than it uses.
    Leonard said having the collector in Moriarty will provide a great educational opportunity for students and adults alike. Science classes from Rio Grande High School have already indicated interest in viewing it, he said.
    "Most of the public has never seen technology like this because it's behind the fence or they're intimidated by (Kirtland Air Force) Base," he said. "This will bring it out into the public. It will be very educational."
    The collector array, which is about 57 feet tall and 50 feet wide, is now disassembled behind the brewery building. Leonard said he is waiting for a finalized lease on a quarter-acre strip of land next to the brewery before putting the dish together.
    Construction could begin within the next few weeks, he added.
    Once completed, the collector will be visible from I-40 and could play a major role in marketing Sierra Blanca's products, Laur said.
    Only two other breweries in the world— one in California and one in Germany— use solar power to brew beer, said Leonard. However, he added, neither uses the sun's heat to boil water as Sierra Blanca will.
    Sierra Blanca will use the heat in a "direct application"— that is, the sun's heat will be transferred to the brewery through a special underground conduit, instead of charging batteries for electricity.
    Laur said solar-brewed beer and other products could increase tourism to Moriarty and enable the company to sell its products in more stores.
    "It's exciting," he said. "I hope this is just the beginning."
    Leonard will be moving PST from Tijeras to Moriarty within the next few months. PST, he said, will fabricate, install and sell medium and large solar applications. The brewery will be home to one of the first projects, something Leonard said will be good for prospective clients to see.
    "It will be great to bring a client (to the brewery) and show them the dish and what it does," he said.
    The nature of Sierra Blanca's collector— that it rotates to follow the sun— is what sets it apart from other solar technology. Leonard said the dish's movement means it will be much more efficient than a field of "static"— or stationary— solar panels.
    Eventually, Leonard said he would like to procure a second collector for the brewery. Together, two collectors could power several buildings in the industrial park or dozens of homes in the area in addition to the brewery.