Is Stirling Solar's pilot project for SCE a bust?
Republished on 7/18/07 to fix a link.Original Post: As I've noted in an earlier post today, I've been looking for real information about Stirling Solar, the renewable energy project that SDG&E has used to try to sell the public on the proposed "Sunrise Powerlink" transmission line.
Media articles about the Stirling Solar project have mostly read as if the company's PR department wrote them. This article is an exception. It discusses some of the technical issues, including why an Arizona utility company rejected the Stirling Solar technology.
The article mentions a pilot project that Stirling Solar was supposed to create for Southern California Edison. (Unlike SDG&E, So Cal Edison requires Stirling Solar to do a pilot project first.)
You'd think that if the Stirling Solar technology was ready to go, the pilot project for So Cal Edison would already be completed or would at least be underway. After all, a September 2005 article in MIT's Technology Review said that the pilot project would occur over what was then the next 18 months. It’s now been 22 months.
But Stirling Solar's pilot project for So Cal Edison hasn't even been approved for construction. Yesterday I spoke with staff at the Bureau of Land Management in Barstow. I was told that the BLM cannot approve the project for construction until an environmental review has been conducted. And that the BLM can't conduct the review because it is still waiting for data from Stirling Solar's consultant.
Why in heaven's name would Stirling Solar have its consultant delay submitting data to the BLM? Would it reveal problems with the Stirling Solar technology? Does Stirling Solar have a problem paying the consultant? (There are rumors that Stirling Energy Systems—commonly referred to as Stirling Solar—is in serious financial trouble.)
If Stirling Solar can work out all the bugs from its solar dish technology, it could be very useful But the public wants real renewable energy, not pie-in-the sky fantasy.
The article mentions a pilot project that Stirling Solar was supposed to create for Southern California Edison. (Unlike SDG&E, So Cal Edison requires Stirling Solar to do a pilot project first.)
You'd think that if the Stirling Solar technology was ready to go, the pilot project for So Cal Edison would already be completed or would at least be underway. After all, a September 2005 article in MIT's Technology Review said that the pilot project would occur over what was then the next 18 months. It’s now been 22 months.
But Stirling Solar's pilot project for So Cal Edison hasn't even been approved for construction. Yesterday I spoke with staff at the Bureau of Land Management in Barstow. I was told that the BLM cannot approve the project for construction until an environmental review has been conducted. And that the BLM can't conduct the review because it is still waiting for data from Stirling Solar's consultant.
Why in heaven's name would Stirling Solar have its consultant delay submitting data to the BLM? Would it reveal problems with the Stirling Solar technology? Does Stirling Solar have a problem paying the consultant? (There are rumors that Stirling Energy Systems—commonly referred to as Stirling Solar—is in serious financial trouble.)
If Stirling Solar can work out all the bugs from its solar dish technology, it could be very useful But the public wants real renewable energy, not pie-in-the sky fantasy.
Especially when a proposed 1.4 billion dollar transmission line through a state park is at stake.
Photo: Transmission lines in the desert that link the Imperial Valley substation to electricity produced in Mexico by SDG&E's owner, Sempra Energy. The "Sunrise Powerlink" would start at this substation, so could easily hook into electricity produced in Mexico by Sempra or other companies. Imported electricity = exported jobs
Labels: imported electricity, Stirling Solar, Sunrise Powerlink
posted by Kelly Fuller at
1:25 PM
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