News

Sierra Nevada wins platinum for environmental design

Mills River brewery has nearly 2,200 solar panels. Between the solar array and the microturbines the plant produces an average of 1 megawatt of AC power, enough to power dozens of average American homes.

By Lightning Reports, Published: June 13, 2016

MILLS RIVER — Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s Mills River plant has become the only U.S. production brewery to earn a Platinum designation for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a recognition of the site's commitment to environmental sustainability, recycling, water quality and clean air.

From the start of construction in 2012, the Mills River brewery was designed to meet minimum Silver LEED status. LEED is a globally recognized rating system for the design and construction of environmentally responsible buildings. The ratings consider a large subset of construction factors including efficiency, water performance, site management, and indoor environmental quality (e.g. low-emitting paints, lighting control and thermal settings.) Throughout construction, Sierra Nevada closely adhered to LEED guidelines, and the North Carolina site is among the best-in-class for breweries. Sierra Nevada took the certification farther than any other brewery and not only included several buildings on the campus but also the brewing process equipment in their energy calculations, the company said in a news release.

The LEED review board looked at:

• Energy Creation and Performance—The Mills River brewery has nearly 2,200 photovoltaic solar panels spread over the warehouse roof and on nine tree-like canopies in the main parking area. Additionally, the brewery uses Capstone Microturbine technology to convert methane biogas captured from their on-site wastewater treatment plant into electricity. Between the solar array and the microturbines, in Mills River Sierra Nevada produces an average of 1 megawatt of AC power on site, enough to power dozens of average American homes.
• Water Use, Recovery, and Treatment—A brewery-wide initiative to conserve water has reduced water consumption to only 3.5 barrels of water to make one barrel of beer, a near historic low in the brewing business. Additionally, the Mills River brewery has made storm water runoff, reuse and recovery a priority. The entire brewery site was designed to collect rainwater runoff and either repurpose it for use as irrigation and other non-potable water needs or to store and manage runoff through an elaborate system of cisterns, underground storage, sunken gardens and bioswales, all of which lead to a system of plunge pools to further clear sediment before the water reenters the French Broad River system. The front parking areas at the brewery also consist of permeable pavers, which allow rain water to absorb into the ground rather than cascading off and carrying sediment into the French Broad River.
• Resource Recovery—The brewery works toward eliminating waste materials through extensive and ambitious recycling and composting programs. Throughout construction, the brewery was able to divert 81 percent of total waste away from landfills.
• Building Efficiency and Indoor Environmental Quality—The construction of the building itself was carefully considered for both efficiency and to counter the energy and noise demands of the brewing environment. Panel-built concrete walls and insulation and energy efficient windows and doors help keep temperatures stable, natural light at a high level and noise to a minimum.

“We’re very honored and humbled by this certification,” said Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman. “We’ve tried to be good stewards of the environment since our earliest days as brewers, and building a second brewery gave us the chance to start with sustainability in mind. Every day, we look at all that we do and we try to find something to improve—no matter how small. Little-by-little they add up to something that we can be very proud of.”
“As we established roots on the East Coast, it was important for us to live up to our commitment to responsible growth, so early on we decided that we would pursue LEED certification for our new brewery,” added the company's sustainability manager, Cheri Chastain. “Our design and construction innovations helped with LEED certification, but most of them were things we would have done anyway simply because they were the right things to do. Earning this LEED Platinum certification reinforces those decisions and validates the time our team put into this project, but the real reward is a more sustainable brewery for generations to come.”
The main construction on the Mills River brewery is complete, but the site is not yet done. In the coming months and years, the brewery plans to create outdoor hiking and biking trails, open French Broad River access and unveil an indoor music and events space.