January 2, 2025
Del Dotto Winery in Napa Valley has invested in solar technology that will reduce electricity bills by 95%. The winery is expected to save $3 million over the life of the four newly installed systems Mechatron solar energy dual-axis trackers at the winery’s Caves facility on California’s St. Helena Highway. Six more trackers are planned for a nearby corporate vineyard.
Del Dotto typically used nearly 370 MW of electricity per year, racking up an annual PG&E bill worth $120,000. The Mechatron trackers, which began generating power in November, are expected to deliver a return on investment over three years, said Michael Fakukakis, the company’s CEO.
The new solar system was placed amid a field of 30-year-old vines, which are expected to be replaced with new stock. The footprint of the M18KD Mechatron tracker’s concrete pillar is only 10 square meters, minimizing land use impact. The single-pillar architecture of the trackers allows dual land use, allowing both winery and solar harvesting on the same plot. A large part of the shade from the solar panels will fall on a maintenance road between the vines.
“We chose the Mechatron Solar tracker solution because of the minimal amount of landscape it occupies,” said Mike Burgess, Del Dotto’s CFO. “Scientifically and mechanically, the dual axis is more efficient than the alternative fixed-tilt or single-axis solar mounting systems. Common sense tells you that the double axis follows the sun better than anything else. I was very impressed when I saw the tracker moving. It was quite a sight.”
In addition to the Mechatron solar panel, Del Dotto is adding a LynxSystems microgrid that will facilitate software management of all energy consumption across multiple locations. The LynxSystems Intelligent EMS (energy management system) monitors the facility’s load and reduces or adds load depending on the operational capacity of the alternate source.
Looking for the highest energy density
Dual-axis trackers offer the highest energy density of any mounting design for the solar industry, with the Mechatron M18KD being the largest, supporting up to 90 panels. Boosting the power generation of the new Del Dotto system is the use of 550W bifacial solar panels, which provide a double-digit increase over standard monofacial panels of the same size and number.
The County of Napa limited the trackers’ upper reach to 15 feet due to aesthetic considerations for the famous stretch of wineries along the St. Helena Highway, shaving a few percentage points off the potential generation of the standard 30-foot tracker at full working height.
“Counties like Napa are very protective of their land and viewing rights. But there is a two-foot shoulder between Highway 29 and the trackers, which provides adequate visual coverage from the highway,” Burgess said.
One key to the adoption of the dual-axis technology from Stockton, California-based Mechatron is the combination of federal tax credits, a kicker credit for a system manufactured in the United States, along with a possible rebate from Marin Clean Energy, the green energy provider, Burgess noted. “On a net cash basis, the final cost of the project was 50% of the gross cost,” he said.
“We manufacture the M18KD at our Stockton facility in Northern California and are proud to say that our trackers are made in America, to the 2022 US Treasury IRA Domestic Content Bonus Credit specifications,” said Ted Ronshausen, Commercial Director from Mechatron.
About the M18KD dual-axis tracker
The high-efficiency M18KD tracker generates 40% more energy than ground-mounted solar panels and 20% more than single-axis arrays. With a single mast, the tracker also has the smallest land footprint in the global solar market, ideal for vineyards, carports and other locations with limited terrain.
Each M18KD tracker supports 90 solar panels with 72 cells each, or 72 panels with 144 cells each, resulting in a yield of over 43 kW on a single tower. With a ground coverage of up to 50%, the M18KD solution only requires 4 hectares per MW of array.
The gearless, hydraulic design drives more through 360 degrees of azimuth rotation and 60 degrees of zenith inclination. The M18KD tracker is highly weather resistant and can withstand wind gusts of up to 185 km/h. The M18KD can also withstand snow loads approaching 35 psf, although snow loads are typically dissipated using automated snow sensors and motion management software.
Using double-sided solar panels, the Mechatron Solar tracker has shown an increase in energy yield ranging from 13% in California to 23% in Nova Scotia. The dual-axis M18KD tracker collects more reflected light on the bottom of the solar panels than lower, fixed-mount and single-axis trackers. It also collects more light than smaller dual-axis trackers with lower tables.
Mechatron Solar has completed a Black & Veatch Bankability Report as well as a UL 3703 Certification Standards Evaluation by Solar PTL. The company’s expanded manufacturing facility now has an annual production capacity of 200 MW of trackers.
Keywords: commercial and industrial, Mechatron Solar
