Cogenra Solar, a California startup developing hybrid photovoltaic (PV) and hot-water solar installations, unveiled its first commercial product at the Sonoma Wine Company in Graton, California.
The solar cogeneration installation employs 15 Cogenra
SunBase™ modules to displace approximately 64,000 kilowatt-hours and
12,500 therms of natural gas annually. The solar thermal element will
heat water to 165°F to fuel Sonoma Wine Company’s wine tank
wash and wine barrel washing system. The PV element constitutes a 272-kilowatt (kW) power generation system.
The Sonoma Wine Company will
purchase the heat and electricity generated from the installation at
guaranteed energy rates from Cogenra under the company’s Heat and Power
Purchase Agreement (HPPA)–which it says is the first in the industry.
Under the HPPA, Cogenra will maintain
ownership of the solar cogeneration modules, and Sonoma Wine Company
will hedge against rising and volatile electric and gas prices
throughout the 15-year contract.
High-profile venture capitalist Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures is an investor in the company. He was on hand for the unveiling, as well as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
“Cogenra’s technology merges the best photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies to meet two valuable industrial needs, low cost heat and electricity. Our solution produces five times more energy and three times the greenhouse gas reductions over traditional solar offerings,” Cogenra CEO Gilad Almogy said.
Khosla ventures is also an investor in PVT Solar, Inc. a competitor of Congenra that is producing hybrid solar panels that capture waste heat for water heating.
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