Wente Energy Case Study

With an annual savings estimated over $2,600+ and 34K+ lbs of CO2e per tractor, hear from Niki Wente to learn how Monarch Tractor is bringing profitable and sustainable solutions to Wente Vineyards

Wente Vineyards is the oldest continuously operated, family-owned winery in the country. Their wines are 100% estate grown and sustainably farmed in the Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay, and Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellations. The winery is owned and managed by the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family, who is recognized for their influence in making Chardonnay the best-selling varietal in the country.

We are always interested in learning about new technology that can further aid our sustainability goals and create a more efficient vineyard. Our goal in adding these tractors to our fleet includes reducing emissions, exploring automation and the potential for multi-tractors per operator activities.

Niki Wente
5th Generation Winegrower and Vineyard Manager

The Test: 
Monarch is more than just an electric alternative to your diesel tractor. Driverless operations and detailed data collection takes Monarch to the next level, but how does it stack up in a side-by-side operation comparison? Working with Wente Vineyards we set up a field trial to quantify exactly how much farms can save from going electric alone. We ran a side-by-side mowing operation with Wente’s John Deere diesel tractor to find out. Both tractors ran a rotary mower, operated at the same time, in side-by-side rows of the same block. We reported the state of charge and diesel fuel tank levels before and after the operation. The diesel tractor and the Monarch Tractor alternated rows until the mowing operation was completed, approx. 7.25hrs of run time finishing with 24% battery charge remaining.

Outcome:
After comparing the battery usage of the Monarch tractor and the diesel usage of the John Deere, we were able to quantify how much Wente Vineyards could save in fuel and emissions annually, with an average annual runtime of 1,000 hours per tractor. 

• Fuel cost Savings: $18.59
• Emissions Reduction: 242.14 lbs
• Co2e Estimated Annual Fuel Cost Savings: $2,655.71
• Estimated Emissions Reduction: 34,592.42 lbs Co2e 
  
  
  Fuel cost savings for 1,000 hour annual tractor runtime:
• $2,655.71
  
  Diesel and kWH Costs used: 
•  $/kWh - 0.1559
• $/Gal - 2.975
  
  We used the kWh cost for Livermore, CA and costs for ag diesel