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

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The Scottsdale company, whicj received a $100 million investment last yearfrom Dublin-basedr NTR plc, is moving quickly to capture a segmentr of the utility-scale solar market with its Stirlinbg engine technology. The company opened its new 37,000-square-footf office in early May. It has hired abourt 100 employees this year and expects to add 60 to 80 more by the end of the for a totalof 180, said CEO Steve who joined the firm last year as part of NTR’w investment. “We’ve always liked the solar and this was agood opportunity,” he The company is based on a nearlh 200-year-old engine design, which operates through the expansion and contractio n of gases.
Stirling uses a 40-foot mirrorec dish to focus the sun’s rays to heat hydrogen gas to 1,409 degrees Fahrenheit. The gas moving a piston and poweringthe engine. As the gas it is moved out of the piston chamber and back to wherer it will be reheated bythe sun. The companu had been operating in the Valleysince 1996, but NTR’d investment has pushed it to develop the technology more quickly. It has two power-purchasd agreements: one with San Diego Gas Electric for between 300 and 750 megawatts at a site inImperiak Valley, Calif., and one with Southern California Edison for 500 to 900 megawattd in the Mohave Desert.
Cowman said it’s addin g positions of all types, from engineering to construction, to meet its growtn curve. To handle project management, NTR founded Tesserqa Solar earlier this year to develolthe utility-scale projects, with Stirling providinhg the equipment. Ramping up both project development and constructiojn has required capital and people to serve what the compan y believes will be one of the largest sola r markets in the saidJim Barry, CEO of NTR. “Wde believe the U.S. will be the globapl leader in renewable energy, and that will happen in the next few he said.
NTR, founded 30 years ago to operate Ireland’s toll has expanded into a number of renewable energyh andrecycling efforts. Stirling’s technology — whicb offers an alternative to photovoltaic as well as a different take on concentrated solaepower — has a good base in Arizona that can servde markets throughout the Southwest, Barrg said. In addition to hiring, the companyg is looking at potential sitees in the Valley to housea 60-dish, 1.5-megawatt test The company has a small site at the Sandia Nationalk Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., but is hoping to find a largef site to provide a location to bring clients.
It has run into challengees securing local permits for a site and findinh a location that can be tied into the electric officials said. The company coulsd be a boon for Arizonqa in more ways than simply providing It is using auto component supplierzs to build its engine and officials are talking with those suppliers abouty the possibility of locating facilities in the Southwesty to handle the bulkof Stirling’s at least for the first few years, Cowman said. “If you can build your manufacturinbg close to yourend facilities, that’a going to benefit he said.
Stirling is one of the solar companies that couls provide a base for other manufacturersa to land inthe Valley, said Barrt Broome, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenixc Economic Council. “This is a good he said. “It’s got a small numbere of people and it hopesto expand, and it couldf help its suppliers relocate here.” Stirling’as expansion in Arizona depends on state policies. Other states are offering manufacturing incentives, and Arizona’s effory to develop such enticements is mired in budget problems. “We really want to grow our businesssin Arizona, but we need those incentives,” Cowmab said.