Cogenra Solar, a supplier of renewable energy solutions and distributed solar cogeneration systems, declared that it has completed the solar cogeneration installation at General Hydroponics, a producer of nutrients and indoor agricultural systems for raising quality crops.
Cogenra Solar's 75kW solar cogeneration array is delivering hot water and electricity to the General Hydroponics manufacturing facility in Santa Rosa, Calif.
The 75 kW system installed at Santa Rosa, California facility of General Hydroponics will supplement the power production of its existing PV system and improve its energy savings by producing electric power and hot water from the same installation
The newly installed 75 kW system, 60 kW of thermal energy and 15 kW of electricity incorporates 36 Cogenra photovoltaic thermal (PVT) fixed over a normal solar racking system installed over the rooftop of General Hydroponics. The thermal part of the installation will cut down nearly 3,500 therms of natural gas usage at the facility and the electric power part will offset the solar power presently generated from its existing 101 kW system. Sun Light & Power, a partner company of Cogenra, has completed the solar installation in less than three weeks time.
The Cogenra system has received certification from both IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and SRCC (Solar Rating and Certification Corporation) to receive both electric and thermal rebates including that of the incentives provided by the California Solar Initiative (CSI) for solar hot water systems. The present rebate of $12.82 per therm of preempted gas in the first year by CSI balances the CSI PV rebates thus allowing quicker paybacks than the normal solar electric or solar hot water facilities.