Greentech Lead
America: Cogenra Solar, a provider of distributed solar cogeneration
systems and renewable energy service solutions, announced a solar cogeneration
project at Tucson Medical Center (TMC).
The company claims that the installation will be the first
healthcare solar cogeneration application and will produce renewable
electricity and hot water for TMC’s campus power plant.
The 46 SunDeck module system will provide the building with
solar electricity and solar hot water.
Constructed on the roof of the TMC power plant, Cogenra’s
solar cogeneration array is TMC’s first renewable energy project and was
selected for the technology’s ability to provide large amounts of hot water, in
addition to electricity.
“We use thousands of gallons of hot water every day. As a
community hospital, decreasing our natural gas consumption and energy bills is
very important, and solar cogeneration offers a way to address those needs,” says Richard Prevallet, vice president, Facilities and Construction at Tucson
Medical Center.
“This is our first renewable energy project and it’s
encouraging to see that the economics of solar cogeneration allowed us to
implement a renewable energy solution that helps us save money, while also
helping the environment,” Prevallet added.
Cogenra Solar is constructing a 115kW solar thermal system
which will pre-heat an average of 5,300 gallons of water daily for the reverse
osmosis (RO) boiler. The system will produce 31,600 kWh of electricity,
reducing consumption by 7,000 therms of gas annually and saving over $8,500 per
year in energy costs.
“Healthcare is an ideal industry for solar cogeneration
implementation. Due to factors that include high hot water demand, increased
focus on building functionality and efficiency, and a number of environmental
industry mandates, hospitals stand to gain enormously from this technology,” said Gilad Almogy, CEO of Cogenra Solar.
Cogenra has already implemented solar cogeneration projects
including Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates, Facebook, the University of Arizona,
and the Navy, Army and Marine branches of the U.S. Military. Cogenra’s hybrid
solar cogeneration technology is modular, scalable and simple, and offers
returns in less than five years for a large majority of customers.