Del Dotto Winery in Napa Valley has embraced innovative solar technology, installing four Mechatron Solar dual-axis trackers at its Caves facility on St. Helena Highway. This investment is expected to cut the winery's electric bill by 95% and save an estimated $3 million in energy costs over the system's lifespan.
Del Dotto Saves Energy Costs with Mechatron Trackers
Mechatron Solar trackers are known for their high energy yield and exceptional reliability, with a 99.6% uptime demonstrated across 90 MW of installations in Europe and North America over the past 15 years. The M18KD tracker — which generates 40% more energy than ground-mounted arrays and 20% more than single-axis systems — is highly efficient and ideal for terrain-constrained sites like vineyards and carports.
Its single-mast design offers the smallest ground footprint in the global solar market. Each tracker supports up to 90 solar panels, yielding over 43 kW per mast, with a ground coverage ratio of 50%. Mechatron's advanced manufacturing facility now has an annual production capacity of 200 MW of trackers.
Solar System Optimizes Land Use at Winery with Mechatron Trackers
The new solar system was installed in a field of 30-year-old vines, which are set to be replaced with new ones. The concrete pillar of the M18KD Mechatron tracker occupies just 10 square feet, minimising land use impact. Its single-pillar design allows for dual land use, enabling both winery operations and solar energy generation on the same land. Most of the shading from the solar panels will fall on a maintenance road between the vine rows.
Mike Burgess, the CFO of Del Dotto, said: “We selected the Mechatron Solar tracker solution because of the minimal amount of landscape it takes up. Scientifically and mechanically, the dual axis is more efficient than the alternative fixed-tilt solar or single-axis solar mounting systems.”
Along with the Mechatron solar array, Del Dotto is integrating a LynxSystems microgrid to manage energy usage across multiple locations. The LynxSystems Intelligent EMS (Energy Management System) monitors facility loads and adjusts them by either reducing or increasing them based on the capacity of available alternate energy sources.
Del Dotto Enhances Output with Mechatron and Bifacial Panels
Dual-axis trackers offer the highest energy density among solar mounting designs with the Mechatron M18KD being the largest, accommodating up to 90 solar panels. Enhancing the power output of Del Dotto's new system is the inclusion of 550-watt bifacial solar panels, which offer a substantial performance advantage over standard monofacial panels of the same size and quantity.
The adoption of Mechatron's dual-axis technology is driven by a combination of factors, including federal tax credits, additional incentives for U.S.-manufactured systems, and the potential for a rebate from Marin Clean Energy, the green energy provider.
Ted Ronshausen, Commercial Director of the company, said: “We manufacture the M18KD at our Stockton factory in northern California and are proud to be able to say our trackers are Made in America, per 2022 U.S. Treasury IRA Domestic Content Bonus Credit specifications”