Inasmuch as apples are essentially born of solar power, the Southwest Michigan cider maker, Virtue Cider has elected to go “more green” than ever before with a substantive new solar array to help run operations at their Fennville cidery.
Virtue Cider is located among miles of orchards and vineyards along Southwest Michigan’s Cider Coast, and the company has just completed the installation of a 78-kilowatt (kW) solar array next to its cider houses, which means that more than half of its purchased electricity will be coming from renewable sources and is equivalent to 150,000 pounds of CO2 avoided each year.
The founders remind us that “apples are solar powered after all, and now Virtue Cider is too.” The new solar array includes 200 panels installed on the north side of Cider House 1, which will help offset the company’s already very low electricity use for its cider-making and farm operations. The array will be capturing over 100,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean, renewable electricity each year, helping to offset 58-percent of Virtue’s current electricity usage.
Gregory Hall is founder of Virtue Cider. He says, “For generations, Michigan farmers have worked from sunrise to sunset, now Virtue Farm works from dawn to dusk generating green electricity with our new solar panels.”
The installation of solar panels at Virtue Cider is part of a larger company-wide commitment from Brewers Collective, the craft business unit of Anheuser-Busch, in which all craft partner brewery and cidery locations plan to have solar panels installed by the end of next year. Hall was a critical member of the advisory team that brought the initiative, called Elevate, and its environmentally friendly commitments to life.
Virtue’s new solar project also contributes to Michigan’s goal to produce 15-percent of all electricity from renewable sources by 2021 as part of the State’s Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Virtue worked with ForeFront Power and PCI Solar to design and install the solar array. Construction was completed in August, and interconnection to the electrical grid was completed earlier this month. The system is currently generating electricity, and visitors can view the panels on-site while exploring the cidery’s trails.
Paul Walker, CEO at ForeFront Power says, “Each pint of cider produced by Virtue Cider is now cleaner than before,” and adds, “Brewers Collective made a unique commitment to solar energy across the country and Virtue Cider is one of the first craft partners to reap the benefits of this initiative. We have really enjoyed working with their incredible team to make this a success.”
The installation continues Virtue’s mission of making proper farmhouse cider the greenest way possible. Virtue’s cider houses were designed and constructed in 2012 to use as little energy as possible: Cider House 1, which includes the Taproom and Bottle Shop, as well as the apple pressing and barrel-aging rooms, has no central cooling or heating; Cider House 2, which holds a total of 22 2,000-gallon fermentation tanks also has no central cooling or heating, was also built with a recessed floor underground. By being underground, the building maintains an ambient temperature year-round, and the ciders can ferment naturally without other energy expenditures such as heating or cooling the tanks.
The rest of Virtue’s 48-acre property is dedicated to reestablishing the historic homestead, which used to be an apple orchard in the late 1800s. Presently, 15 acres have been reseeded with native grasses and plants, which attract more than 200 bird species and countless butterflies, honey bees, and other pollinators.
In addition to the young orchard and cider houses, Virtue’s farm is home to a variety of animals, through its heritage breed rehabilitation program that includes Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs and Icelandic sheep. These animals enjoy a safe environment and daily care, and help keep the property trimmed and keep the soil healthy through a rotational grazing program. The beloved animals are also a farm visitor favorite.
Virtue is also a certified farm through the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program.
Virtue Cider is based in Fennville, and makes craft cider using traditional techniques: making cider on a farm utilizing Michigan apples and aging the cider in barrels. Their ciders range from dry to sweet and show the complexity and nuance of Southwest Michigan’s apples. Its founder, Gregory Hall, was former brewmaster at Goose Island Brewing Company, and he brings his barrel-aging expertise to cider. Virtue Cider is open all year long where you can sample cider in the Taproom, take some home from the Bottle Shop, tour the cider houses, or walk around the working farm.
Elevate is a global SABRE-award winning, purpose-driven initiative to create and inspire the brightest future possible. By setting ambitious goals and measurable actions the program is designed to ensure that progress is not only possible, but inevitable. Each pillar has dynamic goals that highlight commitments while inspiring others to join the journey to a stronger, healthier beer industry. The five pillars are focused on: better beer, the beer industry, the environment, the group’s communities and diversity & inclusion.
ForeFront Power has more than 15 years of renewable industry experience, serving business, public sector, and residential power customers around the world. They have developed more than 900 MW of capacity across more than 1,000 projects, targeted at assisting public sector agencies and C&I firms to deliver the most impactful behind-the-meter, community solar, and wholesale solutions.
ForeFront is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., a global energy infrastructure and investment leader, which brings a strong balance sheet and global presence to its partnership with ForeFront Power.
The photo accompanying this story is courtesy of Virtue Cider in Fennville.
