Cogenra Solar, a provider of distributed solar cogeneration systems and renewable energy service solutions, today announced a solar cogeneration project at Tucson Medical Center (TMC (News - Alert)), Southern Arizona's largest community hospital, to produce renewable electricity and hot water for TMC's campus power plant, helping the center to reduce costs while being environmentally friendly, according to a company press release .

Solar cogeneration uses up to 80 percent of the sun’s delivered energy.

The 46 SunDeck® module system will be built on the roof of the TMC power plant, and provide the building with solar electricity and solar hot water, according to the press release. Cogenra said, in the press release, that its solar cogeneration array is the medical center’s first renewable energy project and “was chosen for the technology's ability to provide large amounts of hot water, in addition to electricity, and for its quick payback.”

According to a white paper published in India, “Producing both electricity and hot water, solar cogeneration is by far the most efficient and environmentally sustainable distributed energy solution with five times the energy output, three times the greenhouse gas reduction. . .and twice the financial savings compared to traditional photovoltaics and solar hot water systems”.

"We use thousands of gallons of hot water every day,” said Richard Prevallet, TMC vice president of facilities and construction, in the press release. “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. The economics of solar cogeneration allowed us to implement a renewable energy solution that helps us save money, while also helping the environment."

Working with Technicians for Sustainability, an organization which provides businesses and homes with renewable energy systems, Cogenra Solar will constructing a 115kW solar thermal system to pre-heat an average of 5,300 gallons of water daily for the reverse osmosis (RO) boiler, which removes minerals from boiler water at power plants, according to the press release.

The system will go online in May, and is expected to 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."