Two Michigan breweries conserve energy, save money

By Katrease Stafford AnnArbor.com YPSILANTI (AP) -- A move toward energy efficiency and solar power are expected to help two Michigan breweries save thousands of dollars on utility bills. The Arbor Brewing Co. in Ann Arbor and the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti have installed nearly $345,000 in energy efficient devices and systems, according to AnnArbor.com. The Corner Brewery's $250,000 "Green Brewery Project" includes solar-thermal, photovoltaic, and geo-thermal technologies along with new windows, awnings and energy-efficient chiller equipment. It is expected to provide almost all of the brewery's hot water needs and up to 15 percent of its electricity, while knocking $20,000 each year off energy bills. "It's expensive being downtown so any way we can keep our expenses lower lets us be sustainable," co-owner Matt Greff said. Greff recently built a 2,000-square-foot building to be used as a warehouse and for bottling services. Instead of air conditioning, it uses geothermal technology to keep the building at 55 degrees year-round. Savings could total about $1,000 each month. "It's really nice not to add the huge expense of air conditioning during the summer. We can use ground cooling," Greff said. "It's a means of keeping our expenses under control when energy prices won't be coming down anytime soon." The Arbor Brewing project is $95,000 and includes a 2.4 solar photovoltaic array, 300 solar thermal collector tubes, a high-efficiency tankless water heater system and LED lighting. The system is expected to offset gas usage by 40 percent to 50 percent and electricity usage by 15 percent to 20 percent. "What we put on the roof was three portable solar panels that generate electricity, 10 solar thermal panels that heat water for the restaurant and brewery," Greff said. "As of now, we're going to get the majority of hot water for the restaurant and brewery from this." The Ann Arbor project grew out of that city's Downtown Development Authority's Energy Conservation Grant Program, which provided free energy audits and 50 percent project rebates of up to $20,000 to downtown businesses that implement audit recommendations to become more energy efficient. Greff said he worked with the DDA Energy Programs Director David Konkle, as well as a consulting team from the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and the Environment led by Jarett Diamond. Together, they identified a number of financial resources and incentives to offset the installation costs including a $20,000 grant from the DDA, a $10,000 interest-free loan from the city, a 30 percent tax credit from the federal government and various incentives from DTE Energy. By switching over to the new system, the company has seen an increase in production of its beer. "We typically do one batch a day and now by having hot water on demand, we can do two batches a day," Greff said. Published: Tue, Jul 31, 2012