Posted by
LibertyWorld on Saturday, May 17, 2008 2:47:00 AM
Surprise! Large Scale Solar News
February 12, 2008
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. On a perfect New Mexico winter day — with the sky almost 10 percent
brighter than usual, Sandia National Laboratories and Stirling Energy Systems (SES) set a new solar-to-grid system conversion efficiency record by achieving a 31.25 percent net(!) efficiency rate.
April 17, 2008
STIRLING ENERGY SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES $100 MILLION
INVESTMENT BY NTR PLC.
The well established, reliable Stirling Solar Dish technology has completed R&D and is ready for large scale utility development. 3 years ago the system already had tens of thousands of hours of successful power generation. Tests conducted by SCE and the Sandia National Laboratories have shown that the SES dish technology is almost twice as efficient as other solar technologies...
SES is currently developing two solar sites in California... - Solar One and Solar Two (4,500 total acres) will have a combined generating capacity of 1,750 MW. (That would be considerably higher than our largest (3 reactor) nuclear plant). ...while the sun shines, of course. That's a given.
SES has long term, Power Purchase Agreements with two of California’s leading utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE).
Stirling Dish Systems create no adverse environmental consequences.
The only fuel used is the sun... remarkably quiet, emitting less than 66 dB at full load. A Stirling solar plant will have no significant biological or cultural / paleontological / geological impacts. The system has a support post structure that is only about 18 inches in diameter, the result being comparable to the planting of a tree. The primary impact, after construction, is to provide shade.
Projected cost is 6 cents per KWH. (National average is almost 9 cents and California is up around 12)
There ya go! Maybe we can stop scoffing at solar soon.
http://www.stirlingenergy.com