Stirling Energy Systems expands its offices as solar efforts ramp up - Business First of Louisville:

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The Scottsdale company, which receivexd a $100 million investment last yearfrom Dublin-based NTR plc, is moving quickly to capturw a segment of the utility-scale solart market with its Stirling engine technology. The compan opened its new 37,000-square-foot office in early May. It has hirefd about 100 employees this year and expects to add 60 to 80 more by the end of the for a totalof 180, said CEO Stevwe Cowman, who joined the firm last year as part of NTR’s “We’ve always liked the solart space, and this was a good opportunity,” he The company is based on a nearlyt 200-year-old engine design, which operatex through the expansion and contractio n of gases.
Stirling uses a 40-foot mirrored dish to focue the sun’s rays to heat hydrogen gas to 1,4000 degrees Fahrenheit. The gas expands, moving a pistomn and poweringthe engine. As the gas it is moved out of the pistoh chamber and back to where it will be reheatefd bythe sun. The company had been operatingv in the Valleysince 1996, but NTR’z investment has pushed it to develop the technology more quickly. It has two power-purchase one with San Diego Gas & Electric for between 300 and 750 megawattss at a site inImperial Valley, Calif.
, and one with Southern California Edison for 500 to 900 megawatts in the Mohave Cowman said it’s adding positions of all from engineering to to meet its growth curve. To handle projecyt management, NTR founded Tessera Solar earlie r this year to developthe utility-scale projects, with Stirling providing the Ramping up both project development and construction has required capital and peopl e to serve what the companyg believes will be one of the largesf solar markets in the world, said Jim Barry, CEO of NTR. “Wew believe the U.S.
will be the globa l leader in renewable energy, and that will happe n in the nextfew years,” he NTR, founded 30 years ago to operate Ireland’w toll roads, has expanded into a number of renewablr energy and recycling efforts. Stirling’s technologty — which offers an alternative tophotovoltaicx systems, as well as a differen t take on concentrated solar power has a good base in Arizona that can serv e markets throughout the Southwest, Barrty said. In addition to hiring, the company is lookinh at potential sites in the Vallegy to housea 60-dish, 1.5-megawatt test The company has a small site at the Sandiqa National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M.
, but is hoping to find a largerr site to provide a location to brintg clients. It has run into challenges securing local permitsd for a site and finding a location that can be tied into theelectridc grid, officials said. The companh could be a boon for Arizona in more ways than simplgproviding power. It is using auto component supplierz to build itsengine parts, and officialw are talking with thos suppliers about the possibility of locating facilitie s in the Southwest to handlse the bulk of Stirling’s projects, at least for the firsy few years, Cowman “If you can build your manufacturing close to your end that’s going to benefit everyone,” he said.
Stirlin is one of the solafr companies that could provide a base for other manufacturerss to land inthe Valley, said Barry president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic “This is a good example,” he said. “It’a got a small numberd of people and it hopezto expand, and it could help its suppliersx relocate here.” Stirling’s expansion in Arizona depends on stat policies. Other states are offering manufacturinb incentives, and Arizona’s effort to develop such enticements is miredx inbudget problems. “We really want to grow our businesszin Arizona, but we need those Cowman said.