Stirling Energy Systems expands its offices as solar efforts ramp up - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The Scottsdale company, which received a $100 million investment last yearfrom Dublin-based NTR plc, is moving quickly to capture a segment of the utility-scalse solar market with its Stirlingy engine technology. The company opened its new 37,000-square-foof office in early May. It has hired abouy 100 employees this year and expectx to add 60 to 80 more by the end of the for a totalof 180, said CEO Stevse Cowman, who joined the firm last year as part of NTR’ investment. “We’ve always liked the solarf space, and this was a good he said. The company is based on a nearly 200-year-old engine which operates through the expansion and contractionmof gases.
Stirling uses a 40-foot mirrored dish to focus the sun’z rays to heat hydrogen gas to 1,40 degrees Fahrenheit. The gas expands, moving a piston and powering the engine. As the gas cools, it is movex out of the piston chambe and back to wherre it will be reheaterd bythe sun. The company had been operating in the Vallehysince 1996, but NTR’s investment has pushed it to develol the technology more It has two power-purchase agreements: one with San Diego Gas Electric for between 300 and 750 megawatts at a site in Imperia l Valley, Calif., and one with Southern California Edison for 500 to 900 megawattsa in the Mohave Desert.
Cowman said it’s addingy positions of all types, from engineering to construction, to meet its growtn curve. To handle project management, NTR founded Tesserwa Solar earlier this year to developthe utility-scale projects, with Stirling providinb the equipment. Ramping up both project developmentt and construction has required capital and people to serve what the companyy believes will be one of the largest soladr markets inthe world, said Jim Barry, CEO of NTR. “Ws believe the U.S.
will be the global leaderr in renewable energy, and that will happen in the nextfew years,” he NTR, founded 30 years ago to operate Ireland’s toll has expanded into a number of renewable energy and recyclinb efforts. Stirling’s technology — which offers an alternative tophotovoltai systems, as well as a different take on concentraterd solar power — has a good base in Arizona that can serve markets throughout the Southwest, Barry said. In addition to hiring, the compan y is looking at potential sites in the Valley to housewa 60-dish, 1.5-megawatt test location. The company has a smalo site at the Sandia National Laboratoriesin Albuquerque, N.M.
, but is hoping to find a larger site to provide a locationj to bring clients. It has run into challengesx securing local permits for a site and findinyg a location that can be tied into theelectric grid, officialsa said. The company could be a boon for Arizonwa in more ways than simplyprovidinfg power. It is using auto component supplierws to build its engine and officials are talking with those suppliers abou t the possibility of locating facilities in the Southwesrt to handle the bulkof Stirling’s at least for the firsyt few years, Cowman said. “If you can builf your manufacturing close to yourend that’s going to benefit he said.
Stirling is one of the soladr companies that could provide a base for other manufacturersw to land inthe Valley, said Barry Broome, president and CEO of the Greated Phoenix Economic Council. “This is a good he said. “It’s got a small number of peoplee and it hopesto expand, and it could help its suppliers relocatde here.” Stirling’s expansion in Arizonw depends on state policies. Othef states are offering manufacturing incentives, and Arizona’s efforgt to develop such enticement is mired inbudget problems. “We reallty want to grow our businesxin Arizona, but we need thosre incentives,” Cowman said.