SingingWater VineyardsForge Solar Performance Audit
A family-run winery in the Texas Hill Country needed a clear answer to a simple question: “Is my solar investment actually doing what it should?” Forge built a defensible performance + ROI story using cloud exports and utility billing — even with network constraints that prevented direct gateway access.
Reality on the ground
The Challenge
On paper, the system looked great. In practice, the owner was seeing uncertainty and conflicting signals across vendors and portals.
- • Utility bills that didn't seem to reflect the promised solar offset.
- • Multiple data silos: Enphase cloud app, Apolloware meter on the LAN, and no single source of truth.
- • Primary PV gateway connected via LTE, blocking direct on-site telemetry capture from an edge device.
- • No long-term O&M plan beyond basic workmanship coverage and OEM warranties.
The core issue: no trusted baseline. Without a clean view of production vs. consumption vs. tariff, it was impossible to quantify performance or prioritize improvements.
Evidence-first audit workflow
Forge's Approach
Under the owner's authorization, Forge ingested Enphase production exports, Bandera Electric Cooperative billing, and installer documentation where available.
A structured site configuration captured system notes, tariff assumptions, and current limitations (ex: LTE gateway, no direct LAN access).
Forge reconciled production vs. consumption vs. tariff to quantify delivered value, locate uncertainty, and define next questions for vendors and utility.
Because the PV gateway was on LTE and not the local LAN, Forge treated the cloud data as the primary production source and focused on reconciling it with utility billing — rather than forcing device-level comms at the wrong time.
Deliverables
What the Audit Produced
- • Month-by-month production (~126 MWh/year) vs site consumption and utility charges.
- • Estimated effective cost of energy from the utility.
- • A baseline for how much value the system delivers today — and what is at risk if performance drifts.
The result wasn't just a prettier graph. It was a defensible story about how the system is performing, where uncertainty sits, and what questions to take back to the installer and utility.
So what changed?
Outcomes
- • A clear, consolidated performance baseline — independent of any single vendor portal.
- • A reusable Forge Solar Performance Audit template that can be applied to other C&I sites.
- • A roadmap for next steps: resolve install questions, plan repower options, and wire the site into Forge Edge once network constraints allow.
SingingWater is now a long-term pilot site for Forge. Future work will quantify Prevention Credits (avoided underperformance and downtime) and extend the analysis into repower and decommissioning scenarios.
Next Step
Want the same clarity for your solar assets?
Start with a Forge Solar Performance Audit on one site. Use the request form and mention “SingingWater” to route your message directly to the Forge team.