Social media giant, Facebook, is entering the solar cogeneration arena with help from Cogenra Solar, which will be developing a renewable hot water and electricity solar cogeneration array on the rooftop of Facebook’s Menlo Park campus fitness centre. Cogenra advised that this is not only Facebook’s first venture into solar energy at its corporate campus, but that the company will be the first corporate campus to use solar cogeneration.
The 24-module installation will total 60kW of combined electric and thermal output, which will replace over 60% of the fitness centre’s natural gas needs, powering gym equipment, lighting and showers in the newly renovated fitness space. Installation and integration into the site’s facilities will begin by the end of the year.
“While often overlooked compared to traditional electricity demands, corporate campuses and other community-based facilities, all require large amounts of hot water on a daily basis. With Cogenra’s unique combination, the hot water and electricity components complement one another, further optimizing energy output and returns,” said Dr. Gilad Almogy, CEO of Cogenra.
