Enphase Energy and Same Sun of Vermont Bring Branded Solar to WhistlePig Whiskey

FREMONT, Calif., June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH), a global energy technology company and the world’s leading supplier of solar microinverters, today announced that Same Sun of Vermont has deployed Enphase microinverters on a 56.2 kWDC commercial solar system for WhistlePig Rye Whiskey, a Vermont-based craft whiskey maker.

WhistlePig’s distillery is situated on a 500-acre former dairy farm in Shoreham, Vermont. For this commercial solar project, Same Sun of Vermont used 173 Enphase IQ 7X™ microinverters across the distiller’s warehouse building and bottling plant. The array features a unique SolarSkin module wrap from Sistine Solar to showcase the WhistlePig name superimposed on rows of whiskey barrels when viewed from above. Same Sun of Vermont chose high-efficiency Enphase microinverters to mitigate the approximately 20% loss in kWh production caused by shading variations of the eye-catching module coverings. The system is projected to produce up to 54,000 kWh annually and offset approximately 814 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) over its lifetime.

“We used Enphase IQ 7X microinverters in the WhistlePig arrays to ensure maximum reliability, heat tolerance, and redundancy to mitigate the impact from any output variations this beautiful system might have,” said Philip Allen, co-founder at Same Sun of Vermont. “Enphase inverters allowed us to quickly design and deploy this commercial solar system without the string sizing restrictions inherent to other inverter technologies. The Enphase Enlighten™ monitoring platform also provides in-depth performance monitoring via a kiosk-style display, so employees and visitors can see the impact solar has for WhistlePig Whiskey.”

“Our whiskey making process relies on natural resources from our Farm and the surrounding land, and we are fiercely dedicated to taking care of this ecosystem,” says Jeff Kozak, CEO, WhistlePig Whiskey. “Vermont’s climate makes it the perfect resting place for barrels that have been aging up to 18 years, and Farm grains as well as local water, yeast and estate oak are the ingredients for our Farm to glass whiskeys. To minimize our environmental impact, we use concepts like adaptive reuse of buildings as well as solar energy. The solar system Same Sun of Vermont developed and installed for us not only looks great from above, but it also allows us to reduce our CO2 emissions and dependence on non-sustainable energy.”

The Enphase IQ 7X microinverter offers 97.5% CEC efficiency, supports 96-cell PV modules up to 400 Watts (W), has a peak AC output power of 320 W, and delivers a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) range of 53-64 Volts. The IQ 7X microinverter leverages Enphase’s 55 nm custom ASIC for higher reliability and better economies of scale. This high-performance microinverter is based on the unique, software-defined architecture from Enphase and features built-in support for Rapid Shutdown and California Rule 21 requirements for residential as well as commercial solar applications. Enphase microinverters are subjected to a rigorous reliability and quality testing regiment with over one million cumulative hours of test cycles in heat, high humidity, salty air, and extreme cold. To further help ensure quality and durability, Enphase IQ 7X microinverters are designed to be long-lived energy assets and do not contain complicated moving parts or easily breakable components, such as fans, and are backed by a 25-year warranty.

“The WhistlePig Whiskey solar system demonstrates how innovative solar installers like Same Sun of Vermont leverage high-quality Enphase products to deliver benefits beyond providing clean, renewable energy,” said Dave Ranhoff, chief commercial officer at Enphase Energy. “Solar energy is a powerful way to demonstrate a brand’s dedication to the environment, and extending this brand-building to the front of the modules is truly innovative. As the only Elite-tier Panasonic installer currently in the Northeast, we are pleased that Same Sun of Vermont paired Enphase microinverters with high-efficiency 96-cell Panasonic modules to ensure optimal reliability and performance for WhistlePig.”

For more information about commercial solar in the Northeast, please visit the Same Sun of Vermont website, and for more information about commercial solar with Enphase IQ microinverters, please visit the Enphase Energy website.

About Enphase Energy, Inc.

Enphase Energy, a global energy technology company, delivers smart, easy-to-use solutions that manage solar generation, storage and communication on one intelligent platform. The Company revolutionized the solar industry with its microinverter technology and produces a fully integrated solar-plus-storage solution. Enphase has shipped more than 27 million microinverters, and over 1.1 million Enphase systems have been deployed in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit www.enphase.com and follow the company on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Enphase Energy®, the Enphase logo, IQ 7X, Enlighten, and other trademarks or service names are the trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About WhistlePig Rye Whiskey

Founded in 2008, WhistlePig Rye Whiskey is the premier aged Rye whiskey, featuring the bold and often untapped flavor of Rye. WhistlePig Whiskey is leading a surge of innovation in the emerging field of North American whiskey. As the most decorated Rye whiskey – having received the coveted ‘Best in Show Whiskey’ title from the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, WhistlePig is widely viewed as the world's finest Rye. With the opening of its distillery on its 500-acre Vermont farm in the fall of 2015, WhistlePig has also become one of the leading farm-to-bottle Rye whiskeys in the world. For additional information please visit whistlepigwhiskey.com. Please enjoy WhistlePig Rye Whiskey Responsibly.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements related to the expected capabilities and performance of Enphase Energy’s technology and products such as efficiency, kWh production, and power output; expected reduction of carbon emissions; our product quality, reliability and economies of scale; and the quality of products and service provided by our various partners. These forward-looking statements are based on Enphase’s current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties including those risks described in more detail in Enphase’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents on file with the SEC and available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Enphase Energy undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations, except as required by law.

Media Contacts:

Enphase -- Christian Zdebel, pr@enphase.com, 484-788-2384

WhistlePig Whiskey -- David Mandler, david.mandler@dgm-pr.com