STIRLING IN THE SUN?

2 controveries, 1 global climate change crisis and a conundrum.

Stirling Energy Systems has perhaps perfected (perhaps not) a remarkable-looking solar energy technology but it will not build the major installations for which San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has already signed power purchase agreements if California regulators do not approve the new transmission needed to get the electricity to market.

Environmentalists don’t believe the technology is going to work and therefore do not want the Sunrise Powerlink transmission system built because without the solar installation, the new lines will violate desert and mountain wildlife habitat and ecosystems only to provide for the delivery of more fossil fuel-generated electricity.

It’s called a conundrum. Which comes first, the solar system or the wires?

Stirling is either going to build a 300-megawatt or a 900-megawatt installation in California's Imperial Valley. Without the Stirling installation’s extra 600-megawatts of solar energy-generated electricity – which will only be built if the Sunrise Powerlink is approved – SDG&E may not be able to meet the state’s mandate to obtain 10% of their power from New Energy sources by 2010. (See California Public Utilities Quarterly Report)

Should the regulators bail out SDG&E? Tough call. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will make it December 18.

Much of their decision may be based on the ability of the Stirling Energy System’s ability to deliver. Many doubt it.

Larry Butler, engineer/entrepreneur, Stirling engine technology expert: “It's real far-fetched to think you can go from where they are to where they want to be in one shot…”

The Stirling technology has been studied at Sandia National Laboratories for more than a decade. Although it has a history of failing to perform, the technology recently won a Popular Mechanics award for its ability to generate solar energy at record-breaking efficiencies.

Steven Cowman, chief executive, Stirling: “The concept has been around a long time; modern manufacturing technologies have not…We believe the manufacturing technologies now exist to make it at volume.”

Even with the the Stirling solar energy, SDG&E has acknowledged it may not meet the 2010 deadline but it is determined to get the Sunrise project developed and, to that end, has promised that if the Stirling source fails, it will be replaced with other New Energy-generated electricity from solar, wind or geothermal producers in the Imperial Valley.

Jennifer Briscoe, spokeswoman, SDG&E: “We're the ones with the responsibility to make sure we keep the lights on…”

The Stirling dish/engine. (click to enlarge)

From prototype to powerhouse
Ornell R. Soto, December 14, 2008 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

WHO
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E); Stirling Energy Systems (Steven Cowman, chief executive); California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC); Robert Stirling, inventor, the Stirling engine; Irish conglomerate NTR

WHAT
SDG&E needs Stirling to produce, and the Sunrise Powerlink new transmission to be built, in order to meet its obligation for New Energy capacity under the requirements of the California RES.

click to enlarge

WHEN
- CPUC will decide December 18 on Sunrise Powerlink.
- The California RES requires state utilities to obtain 10% of their power from New Energy sources by 2010.
- Linamar, a Canadian automotive products company, will produce the 1st Stirling dish/engine in January 2009. Full production is expected by the end of 2009.
- To meet the terms of the SDG&E power purchase agreement, Stirling must have 36,000 dish/engines installed by the end of 2010.
- The Stirling engine was invented in 1816 by Robert Stirling as an alternative to the steam engine.

WHERE
- Sunrise Powerlink runs from the Stirling installation site in the Imperial Valley to San Diego via desert and mountains.
- Stirling Energy Systems is based in Phoenix.
- Sandia National Laboratories is in Albuquerque, N.M.

WHY
- Sunrise Powerlink will have a 1000-megawatt carrying capacity.
- CPUC could disallow construction on Sunrise Powerlink or conditionalize its construction.
- Irish conglomerate NTR bought a controlling interest in Stirling for $100 million earlier this year.
- The Stirling installation: 36,000 mirrored 40-foot wide, 38-foot tall dishes focus sunlight on lawn-mower-sized engines heating parts of them to 1,300+ degrees Fahrenheit. In the sealed engine, heated hydrogen expands, drives a piston, migrates, cools, contracts and drives another piston. The action generates electricity. Each dish has a 25 kilowatt capacity. Thousands of dishes, covering 3 square miles, would produce more power than a large natural-gas plant.
- Stirling has 6 prototype dishes testing at Sandia National Labs. Engineers have worked for 12 years on modifications to increase their capacity to convert the sunlight that hits them, which is up to 31%, among the best solar system performances.
- NTR has pledged to spend another $100 million to improve efficiency and eliminate problems.
- Environmentalists like the solar power plant concept but doubt Stirling will perform.
- The Stirling power purchase agreement is SDG&E's biggest New energy source.

click to enlarge

QUOTES
- Steven Cowman, chief executive, Stirling: “There's been a lot of words, but there has not been a lot of action…We're trying to fix that…”
- Steven Siegel, lawyer, Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club: “They have something that, under every test out there, has failed commercially, and they're ready to skip the pilot study to go to the large scale…That causes some concerns.”