San Antonio, TX – Alamo Beer Company is, once again, making history. The San Antonio brewing company opened its doors to the public on March 6, 2015 with Texas sized pride, partly because of the creative contributions from One80 Solar. The collaboration yielded an Alamo-shaped solar panel array atop the beer company’s brewery, allowing them to use renewable energy to power their facilities.
“We call it Solar Art,” says Patrick Attwater, CEO of One80 Solar. “We’ve taken something that is usually very utility, and turned into a piece of art.” One80 has built a reputation helping organizations use clean, decentralized, renewable energy.
With the help of a rebate program with San Antonio’s CPS Energy the company has a unique opportunity to sell excess power back to their grid. The 5,000 square-foot solar panel design includes 256 U.S. made SolarWorld 250-watt solar modules. This solar art is expected to produce 90,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, and save approximately 58 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in its first ten years of production. The array will pay for itself in four to five years, then resulting in free power from the sun for at least the next 30 years. This makes Alamo Beer Company an industry pioneer, merging innovation with results.
Using solar energy to support the production process is a unique win for both the solar and beer industries. “We’re committed to producing a quality product: great beer,” says Eugene Simor, CEO of Alamo Beer Company. “Doing so by using a sustainable energy source makes it a win not only for us, but for the entire community.”
This August, visitors will be able to interact with an educational kiosk inside the brewery that will monitor and share the amount of solar energy being produced.
“There isn’t another PV array out there that takes on an artistic shape, accented with additional fabricated pieces to help define the image,” says Attwater. The solar array can be seen from numerous buildings in downtown San Antonio, including the Tower of the Americas. The Alamo-shaped design was decided on because it represents the independent spirit of the brewery and honors one of Texas’ most important historical events…and it just so happens to be the company’s logo. This makes the brewery a prime tourist destination for not only beer lovers, but also history buffs, and solar-power enthusiasts.
The brewery includes a beer hall and biergarten located on 1.89 acres next to the notable Hays Street Bridge in downtown San Antonio. The start of brewing production marked their historic return to the Alamo City after 95 years. With the solar array as major energy source, the company anticipates high brewing production in its first five to seven years, making Alamo Beer Company a key player in the revitalization of the East downtown San Antonio. With that much beer, visitors are sure to remember the Alamo.
About Alamo Beer Company
Alamo Beer Company introduced ALAMO Golden Ale in October 2003. Since then, it has continued to grow locally and has quickly expanded to West Texas, South Texas, Houston, and Austin. In March of 2015 Alamo Beer Company opened its brewery, beer hall and biergarten in San Antonio’s east downtown. Using traditional German brewing methods, the brewery produces an ALAMO Pilsner, ALAMO Amber Lager, ALAMO German Pale Ale, ALAMO Golden Ale and seasonal varieties. The beers are available for purchase at retailers, bars and restaurants. The beer hall and biergarten are open to the public Thursday through Sunday. On the web: alamobeer.com
About One80 Solar
One80 Solar is a commercial solar panel company headquartered in San Antonio, TX and with offices in Wichita, KS. They take a comprehensive approach to helping organizations achieve energy independence with solar systems that are designed to last over thirty years. One80 personalizes each project to the individual client’s needs, from planning to installation, and works only with top tier manufacturers. Before starting One80, they had worked for both boutique solar businesses and larger, venture capital backed firms. Now, One80 combines the personalized customer service of a small business with the reliability and professionalism of a larger company. On the web: one80solar.co
Share Post