Archive for July, 2008

Sierra Nevada Brewery (Chico, CA)07.29.08

With the first batches arriving in 1980, the Sierra Nevada Brewery takes its brewing quite seriously, but has a major commitment to sustainable practices as well. What sort of sustainable practices? It’s a laundry list… here are some highlights:

    A 1.4MW solar installation
    Four 250kW fuel cells for heat and electricity
    Almost 98% waste-diversion (recycling)
    Fully integrated heat-recovery systems
    CO2 recovery from fermentation
    50% reduction in water consumption compared to a typical brewing operation

They’ve made it a big enough deal to score a very detailed page at Wikipedia and a visit from Governor Schwarzenegger.

If you can get through all the beer and concert information, there are tidbits to find. Information on the fuel cell system [pdf] is available. There is also an on-topic interview with Ken Grossman.

Posted in 2000 Water, 3300 Heat Management, 3900 On-Site Energy Production, 4200 Recycling, Beverages, Fuel Cell, People, Photovoltaicwith No Comments →

Gaia Napa Valley [LEED-Gold]07.29.08

The 130-ish room [self-proclaimed] “greenest hotel in the US, ” Gaia Nappa Valley by Wen-I Chang (Butterfly Effect Hotels / Atman Hospitality Group) includes a… restaurant. The menu emphasizes locally-grown food.

There are a good number of reviews, and many of them describe the big plans for the Gaia brand, but even with coverage in bohemian.com, cnet, and USA Today details on sustainability features of the food service operation at Gaia are pretty sparse.

The backstory on Gaia’s development apparently starts in a restaurant – where an effort to save water caught Mr. Chang’s attention. 8 years and $20 million later, a hotel was born – and now there are more (in Anderson, CA and soon, Merced, CA).

Incidentally, Gaia Nappa Valley won the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) 2007 award of excellence for commercial canopies for Rainier Industries. Congratulations.

Posted in 7100 LEED, LEED-Gold, Peoplewith No Comments →

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