The first winery in the world self-supplied with renewables in Rioja

Renewable energies can improve and innovate today's companies and sectors, making them more efficient and lowering costs. A good example of sustainable development is the winery that the Piérola Group has in La Rioja.

This winery is the first in Spain and, probably in the world, to be supplied solely with renewable energy. It uses wind energy that is produced by a wind mill. The electricity it generates arrives to double the amount needed to function.

The owner of Bodegas Fernández de Piérola, Carlos Bujanda, has explained the self-sufficiency project located in Moreda (Álava), about 550 meters above sea level. In order to establish the project and make it work correctly, a map has been made with the most favorable area for it and it is within the Qualified Denomination of Origin (DOCa) Rioja, which make up La Rioja, the Basque Country and Navarra.

The wind turbine that has been installed in the winery has already started working. So far this year, it has produced a total of 250.000 kW / h of wind energy. With this production of electricity from renewable sources, it is being avoided that around 150.000 kg of CO2 are discharged into the atmosphere and therefore contribute to the increase in temperatures and the effects of climate change.

The investment made to carry out this innovative project reaches 400.000 euros. This represents between 10% and 15% of business sales which was created in 1996 and which produces one million kilos of grapes. With them, the wines that are marketed in Spain and in more than twenty countries are made.

Bujanda has emphasized that this project has a worldwide importance since it must be taken into account that the wind turbine has the capacity to double the energy it generates with the energy that they need to consume for the winery. In this way, it allows be fully self-sufficient with clean energy and also dump the surplus energy into the grid so that other consumers can use it.