13 Aug 2005
World's Largest Solar Array to use Stirling Engine

Stirling engines have always fascinated me: I built a kit engine for a high school science fair project many years ago, and still ponder why this marvel of efficiency hasn't received more attention. Maybe that's going to change...

Stirling engines are not a neglected or forgotten technology after all, according to a story at PESN. With 20 years of in-the-field fine-tuning, Stirling Energy Systems is now ready to go big -- real big. They signed a purchase agreement Tuesday with Southern California Edison (SEC), to install a 20,000 dish array that will cover 4,500 acres and will be capable of generating 500 megawatts of electricity -- more than all other U.S. solar projects combined -- making this the largest solar installation in the world.

(link) [Slashdot]

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