Winery fuels tractor with grapevine cuttings

Rising fuel costs inspire a carbon-neutral New Zealand winery owner to become even more sustainable.
 
 

 Photo: specialKRB/Flickr

Grove Mill Winery in New Zealand was the world’s first certified carbon-neutral winery. The winery has furthered its sustainability efforts by using grapevine cuttings to fuel one of its tractors.
 
Decanter reports that when diesel prices started heading to NZ$1.50 litre (which would be the equivalent of about $4.20 USD/gallon), the vineyard spent NZ$15,000 ($11,076 U.S.) to convert one of its tractors to run off the prunings from its vineyards.
 
It uses a process called gasification, converting the woody cuttings to create a gas, which can be used for fuel. Initial trials have reduced diesel consumption by as much as 75 percent.

It’s estimated that Grove Mill’s carbon emissions are being cut a little over 0.35 tonnes per hactare a year by the use of this tractor.
 
For more information on carbon-neutral wineries, including Grove Mill, check out our photo gallery of 7 carbon-neutral wineries around the world.