How will Birdsong Brewing Company change with rooftop solar panels installed?

It’s hard to tell from ground level, but Birdsong Brewing Company has just finished installing “a little tiny power plant right here in the middle of Optimist Park,” in the words of Birdsong co-founder Chris Goulet.

It’s like any other interview: having a chat on the roof, above oblivious taproom patrons walking in the front door, surrounded by an array of 220 solar panels.

“We originally planned to do something much smaller,” he says “but once you look at the economics, as the system gets bigger, it gets way more cost-effective.”

Having a solar installation on the roof was a dream since the brewery relocated three years before. Six months of paperwork back-and-forth (“This project was like 95 percent permitting,” says Goulet, laughing) culminated in an installation that lasted just a week, and should go live at the beginning of 2018, after inspections are complete.

This upfit makes Birdsong the first Charlotte brewery to go solar. Combine this with the brewery’s commitment to clean water (biannual clean-up of Sugar Creek) and overall water usage (Birdsong boasts one of the best water usage to finished beer ratios for an outfit their size), and the brewery starts to get a positive reputation.

The array is calculated to offset half of the brewery’s overall electrical demands. Goulet is eyeing a payoff period of just over seven years, after factoring in depreciation, tax credits, and energy savings.

Panels are oriented to face southeast, capturing the most energy when brewery demand is at its peak. Shadows cast by various rooftop impediments were factored into the array’s design, with the long shadow left by the towering grain silo having the biggest effect.

Overall, Goulet described the process as “pretty painless,” thanks to the turnkey installation presented by the Renewable Energy Design Group.

So what does this mean to visitors to Birdsong’s taproom?

Very little, actually. The panels aren’t readily visible from the parking lot (believe me, I looked).

“We may put a little display in the taproom that actually shows how much power we’re producing,” says Goulet. “That will be their only direct interaction.”

Right now, there’s loose talk of an awning installation on the current patio made of PV panels, but it’s still in the “wouldn’t it be neat” stage.

Birdsong is set to celebrate their sixth anniversary on Dec. 9. While rooftop tours aren’t on the itinerary, visitors sipping on Higher Ground or newly-released Mexicali Stout should enjoy their beer just a bit more, knowing it’ll be made with a much-lower carbon footprint.

There’s one minor step Goulet overlooked, though: cleaning the panels.

“Whenever we get a new draft tech, we’ll just send them up here with a bucket and some water,” he jokes.

With 220 panels to consider, that’d be an intense initiation.

Photos: Jonathan Wells

This story was originally published November 30, 2017 at 10:00 PM with the headline "How will Birdsong Brewing Company change with rooftop solar panels installed?."