Case Study

Giumarra Vineyards Corp.

HelioPower helped us be er understand PG&Es energy taris and the strategies we could use to reduce our bill. The ini al phase of our energy plan was the construc on of a solar power system and a tari schedule change. We have realized immediate cost savings in the implementa on of our sustainability plan. - Je Giumarra

Project Overview
Client Name Giumarra Vineyards Corp. Type of Project PV Solar Design, Engineering and Construc on U lity Commissioning Solar Monitoring Opera ons and Maintenance Loca on Bakerseld, California Completed September, 2011 Installa on Type Ground Mount / 1-Axis Tracker System Size 516 kW dc Number of Panels 2296 Products Canadian Solar 225P Panels Satcon Inverter

About Giumarra Vineyards

Giumarra Vineyards Corp., based in Bakerseld, California, has been cul vating table grapes in the San Joaquin Valley for more than 80 years. Today, Giumarra Vineyards is one of the largest table grape growers in the U.S. and a leader in the produce industry with innova ve farming prac ces and an extensive cross-breeding program. Giumarra represents an interna onal network of fresh produce growers, distributors and marketers that encompass a full line of fresh fruits and vegetables. The company takes pride in a longstanding commitment and tradi on of quality, reliability and innova on to feed the world in a healthy way.

The Challenge
In an environment of ever-increasing opera ng costs, Giumarra was looking to signicantly reduce their energy costs. They developed a sustainability program that included strategies to reduce their electricity consump on throughout their growing and packing opera ons, and to develop distributed clean energy sources to oset costs and carbon emissions. Key to Giumarras sustainability program is their rst solar installa on adjacent to their main produc on and cold storage facility in Bakerseld, California. The 2,296 panel, 516 kilowa solar power system will deliver one gigawa -hour of electricity annually, enough to power over 200 homes and oset more than 24,000,000 pounds of CO2 emissions over the next 20 years.

The Solu on Beyond Solar

HelioPower started with an in-depth analysis of their energy use and numerous op ons to reduce their energy bill. This comprehensive approach to energy cost reduc on was a cri cal factor in choosing HelioPower to design and install the solar panel system. www.HelioPower.com Engineering Energy Solutions since 2001 Info@HelioPower.com Toll-Free: 1.87.SOLAR.888 CCL: 915598

Commercial Solar Table Grape Grower

$5,000,000 $4,000,000

Cumula ve Cash Flow

$3,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,000,000 $0 Yr 0 ($1,000,000) ($2,000,000) Year Yr 2 Yr 4 Yr 6 Yr 8 Yr 10 Yr 12 Yr 14 Yr 16 Yr 18 Yr 20 Yr 22 Yr 24

Step One Install a Solar PV System

HelioPower provided turnkey design, engineering, construc on, and u lity commissioning for the 516 kW ground mounted solar installa on. Successfully commissioned in September 2011, HelioPower delivered the project on schedule without a single change order.

Step Two Move to a Solar-friendly U lity Tari Schedule

HelioPower worked with Giumarra to move to a more advantageous tari schedule to further reduce their energy bill. A er installing solar and re-shaping their net energy load prole, moving to a new tari schedule will generate an incremental 40% in annual u lity savings. Switching tari plans reduces energy costs in two ways: Tari switching eliminates energy demand charges: Moving to a solar-friendly tari eliminates signicant demand charges annually at no incremental cost to Giumarra. The PV system generates most of its energy during the peak period between noon and 6 pm, when energy is the most expensive, and with the addi on of their solar power system, Giumarra is able to oset the higher per kWh charges of the solar-friendly tari. Tari switching generates bill credits: Not only is Giumarra able to avoid higher peak charges, they also accumulate signicant bill credits at the peak period rate by selling unused power back through net metering, eec vely osetng most of their total bill. Their rst bill included a signicant credit.

Step Three Document the Savings

System performance is monitored by HelioPowers proprietary energy analy cs so ware. The so ware is the systems operaons and maintenance watchdog, ensuring energy produc on capability is fully u lized.

Summary
With in-depth analysis and solu ons provided by HelioPower, Giumarra successfully lowered their energy bill and implemented their sustainability plan. A new solar power system is now genera ng clean energy to oset their produc on facility usage. The move to a solar-friendly tari is bene ng their opera ng budget with an addi onal 40% in overall energy savings. www.HelioPower.com Info@HelioPower.com Toll-Free: 1.87.SOLAR.888 CA Contractors License: 915598