Close-up

Nestled in the rolling hills of Paso Robles, Calif., Meridian Vineyards spans more than 500 acres in the heart of wine country near the Pacific Coast, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. As a leader in agriculture and promoting ecologically and economically sustainable farming methods, Meridian Vineyards' management team committed to a 1.25-megawatt solar generation project.

Careful not to interrupt winemaking operations during the vineyard's busiest harvest season, D.C. Taylor Co., Concord, Calif., developed a plan to sequence the reroofing project through phases vital to an on-time completion. The existing 20-year-old 160,500-square-foot metal roof was restored using a high-performance elastomeric coating. More than 5,000 roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panels were installed, providing the facility with 40 percent of its electricity and offsetting more than 2.7 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually. A comprehensive waste management program kept total construction and demolition waste for the project to less than 15 percent.

The reroofing project was completed in less than three months—on time and under budget. The PV system was operational ahead of schedule, and installation did not interfere with the vineyard's winemaking season.

For its efforts, D.C. Taylor received a 2011 RoofPoint™ Excellence in Design Award for Excellence in Materials Management through the Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing.

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