Cheers to first solar-powered Welsh vineyard
Pant Du also runs Tesla electric car from PV array
IF running a venture at minimal cost is the goal of any business, Gwynedd vineyard Pant Du, with its breathtaking views of Snowdonia, must be close to achieving it.
Two bore holes provide all the water it needs, and 44 solar panels have been installed at the Nantlle Valley site to create “Wales’ first solar powered vineyard”.
Moreover, owner Richard Wyn Huws, an award-winning TV cameraman, drives an electric Tesla car which he can now charge up for free.
“I think we’re almost self-sufficient but I can say more by next December (when the bills come in),” he said.
“I’ve just received the payments for the first quarter of the year which came to just under £800 – that was for the winter/spring period, the worst time of year for producing solar.
“The next step for us I think is storing the energy we create during the day into batteries – Tesla batteries for example – so we don’t waste any of it.”
Pant Du’s solar panels are capable of generating up to 12kW of power. As well as supplying all its own needs, surplus energy is sold to the National Grid.
Inevitably, most of the free electricity is produced during the summer. Happily for a wine-producing operation, that’s when it’s needed most.
The solar array was installed by renewable energy specialists, Carbon Zero, from St Asaph. Its German-made SolarWorld panels are operated independently and come with an online monitoring portal to track the performance of individual panels.
Carbon Zero boss Gareth Jones said: “I suppose in one way, the Pant Du vineyard is the perfect business for solar power and the location is ideal.
“It’s got a great aspect and a nice open elevation.”
Richard and wife Iola have 8,000 vines planted in neat rows across eight-and-a-half acres of the Nantlle Valley.
They have also planted 3,000 apple trees to produce their own cider, and sell spring water from their bore holes in an onsite shop and café.
A native of nearby Talysarn, Richard joined the film and TV industry in 1985, going on to work on popular S4C dramas such as C’mon Midfield, Pengelli and Porc Peis Bach. He was awarded BAFTAs for his work on Alys and Martha Jac a Sianco. ● Pant Du’s Rosé wine
Although he still occasionally works as a cameraman, most of his time is now devoted to Pant Du, the 17th century farm which he and Iola bought in 2003.
The idea for a vineyard began during a trip to New Zealand a few years ago when he saw how successful its wine industry was.
For red and rosé wines the couple planted two sorts of Pinot Noir grapes and a variety called Rondo, aand they also produce white wine from Bacchus, Siegeerrebe and Seyval BBlanc varieties.
Pant Du sells up tto 2,500 bottles of wine a year, mainly from their own shop bbut also to local hotels and restaurants.
Its 18 acres of orchards boast 42 varieties of apple trees, including 700 which grow the Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli) apple that Pant Du helped save from extinction.
Last year, for the first time, Pant Du had enough apples to make Enlli apple juice, which is unique to the vineyard and now Richard’s favourite tipple.
He said: “I knew that the place was suitable for growing crops because the old farmers told me that things grew well in Pant Du.
“They grow well because it’s south facing and gets the sun all day. You have to have the sun all day to have some chance of growing grapes.”
As a child, Richard would never have imagined solar panels and Tesla batteries. But he did dream of opening Dyffryn Nantlle’s doors to tourism and, thanks to his café and vineyard, he now reckons he’s getting closer.
“People come up the track and think they’re in Italy or France,” he said.