Stirling Energy Systems expands its offices as solar efforts ramp up - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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The Scottsdale company, which received a $100 million investmentr last yearfrom Dublin-based NTR plc, is movinh quickly to capture a segmeng of the utility-scale solar market with its Stirliny engine technology. The company opened its new 37,000-square-foot office in early May. It has hires about 100 employees this year and expectsx to add 60 to 80 more by the end of the for a totalof 180, said CEO Stevew Cowman, who joined the firm last year as part of NTR’sx investment. “We’ve always liked the solarf space, and this was a good he said.
The company is based on a nearlu 200-year-old engine design, which operates throughh the expansion and contraction of Stirling usesa 40-foot mirrored dish to focues the sun’s rays to heat hydrogen gas to 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit. The gas expands, movinb a piston and powering the engine. As the gas it is moved out of the piston chambedr and back to where it will be reheates bythe sun. The company had been operating in the Valleyusince 1996, but NTR’s investmenr has pushed it to developl the technology more quickly. It has two power-purchase one with San Diego Gas Electric for between 300 and 750 megawatts at a site in Imperial Valley, Calif.
, and one with Southerbn California Edison for 500 to 900 megawattsz in the Mohave Desert. Cowman said it’s adding positions of all from engineeringto construction, to meet its growtj curve. To handle project management, NTR founded Tesserw Solar earlier this year to developthe utility-scalwe projects, with Stirling providing the equipment. Rampiny up both project development and construction has required capitapl and people to server what the company believes will be one of the largest solare markets inthe world, said Jim CEO of NTR. “Ww believe the U.S.
will be the global leader in renewabled energy, and that will happen in the nextfew years,” he NTR, founded 30 years ago to operate Ireland’s toll roads, has expanded into a numbet of renewable energy and recycling efforts. Stirling’sd technology — which offers an alternative tophotovoltaiv systems, as well as a different take on concentrater solar power — has a good base in Arizona that can serve markets throughout the Barry said. In addition to hiring, the companyg is looking at potential sites in the Valley to housea 1.5-megawatt test location. The company has a small site at the Sandia National Laboratoriesin N.M.
, but is hoping to find a largerf site to provide a location to brinyg clients. It has run into challenges securinv local permits for a site and finding a location that can be tied into theelectri grid, officials said. The company couldd be a boon for Arizona in more ways than simply providing It is using auto component suppliers to buil d itsengine parts, and officials are talking with those suppliers about the possibility of locating facilities in the Southwes to handle the bulk of Stirling’w projects, at least for the first few Cowman said. “If you can build your manufacturing clos to yourend facilities, that’s goinbg to benefit everyone,” he said.
Stirling is one of the solarf companies that could provide a base for other manufacturers to land inthe Valley, said Barry president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economidc Council. “This is a good example,” he “It’s got a small number of peoplse and it hopesto expand, and it couldc help its suppliers relocate here.” Stirling’s expansio in Arizona depends on state policies. Other states are offeringb manufacturing incentives, and Arizona’s efforft to develop such enticementws is mired inbudget problems. “We really want to grow our business in Arizona, but we need those incentives,” Cowman said.