SIERRA NEVADA MILLS RIVER BREWERY WINS TOP ENVIRONMENTAL RECOGNITION

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum status — the highest level awarded — for its Mills River brewing facility.

From the start of construction in 2012, Sierra Nevada’s 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, officials said in a news release, 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 LEED review board looked at several features unique to the Mills River brewery:

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 brewerywide 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 stormwater runoff, reuse and recovery a priority.

The entire brewery site was designed to collect rain water 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 re-enters 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.