SoCalGas Accelerates Newest Solar Technology To Co-produce Renewable Electricity And Cooling | Solar | Generation & Storage | Energy Central

To help accelerate the commercialization of new technology that uses the sun's energy rather than the electric grid or natural gas to power air-conditioning systems while co-producing renewable electricity, Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has launched a multi-year demonstration of an advanced concentrated solar cogeneration system to benefit businesses and the region.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120522/LA11335)

The uniquely designed solar thermal technology, installed at SoCalGas' Energy Resource Center in Downey, Calif., uses mirrors and a tracking system to capture the sun's energy and focus the sunlight onto an array of photovoltaic solar collectors to produce electricity and hot water at the same time. The solar-heated hot water is used in place of electricity or natural gas to power an air conditioning process to provide 10 tons of cooling, or enough air conditioning to cool two average-sized homes.