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The Scottsdale company, which received a $100 millionm investment last yearfrom Dublin-based NTR plc, is moving quickly to capture a segment of the utility-scale solar market with its Stirling engine The company opened its new 37,000-square-foot office in earl May. It has hired abou t 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’ s investment. “We’ve always liked the solar and this was a good he said.
The company is based on a nearlh 200-year-old engine design, which operate s through the expansion and contraction of Stirling usesa 40-foot mirrorerd dish to focus the sun’s rays to heat hydrogemn gas to 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit. The gas moving a piston and powerinhthe engine. As the gas cools, it is mover out of the pistohn chamber and back to where it will be reheates bythe sun. The company had been operatinbg in the Valleysince 1996, but NTR’s investmentr has pushed it to develop the technolog y more quickly. It has two power-purchasee agreements: one with San Diego Gas & Electric for between 300 and 750 megawattse at a site inImperial Valley, Calif.
, and one with Southernj California Edison for 500 to 900 megawattsw in the Mohave Desert. Cowman said it’s adding positions of all types, from engineeringy to construction, to meet its growtyh curve. To handle project management, NTR founded Tesseraq Solar earlier this year to developothe utility-scale projects, with Stirlinb providing the equipment. Ramping up both project developmen and construction has required capital and people to servse what the company believes will be one of the largestr solar markets inthe world, said Jim CEO of NTR. “We believe the U.S.
will be the globaol leader in renewable energy, and that will happen in the nextfew years,” he NTR, founded 30 years ago to operate Ireland’as toll roads, has expanded into a numbert of renewable energy and recycling Stirling’s technology — which offerw an alternative to photovoltaic systems, as well as a differenrt take on concentrated solar power — has a good base in Arizona that can serve markets throughout the Southwest, Barry said. In additionj to hiring, the company is looking at potential sites in the Valleh to housea 60-dish, 1.5-megawatrt test location. The company has a small site at the Sandia Nationalp Laboratoriesin Albuquerque, N.M.
, but is hopingv to find a larger site to provide a location to brinbg clients. It has run into challenges securing local permitss for a site and findingh a location that can be tied into theelectridc grid, officials said. The company couled be a boon for Arizona in more ways than simpluyproviding power. It is using auto component suppliers to build itsenginw parts, and officials are talkinhg with those suppliers about the possibility of locatintg facilities in the Southwes to handle the bulk of Stirling’s projects, at leasrt for the first few years, Cowmahn said. “If you can builrd your manufacturing close to yourend that’s going to benefit everyone,” he said.
Stirlingv is one of the solar companies that couled provide a base for other manufacturerz to land inthe Valley, said Barry president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economidc Council. “This is a good example,” he said. “It’s got a small number of people and it hopesto expand, and it coulf help its suppliers relocate here.” Stirling’sd expansion in Arizona depends on state Other states are offering manufacturin incentives, and Arizona’s effort to develoop such enticements is mired in budgef problems.
“We really want to grow our businesszin Arizona, but we need those incentives,” Cowman
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