Stirling Energy Systems Inc. (SES), a developer of utility-scale solar electricity generation plants, has announced an agreement for NTR PLC, an international renewable energy developer and operator, to invest $100 million and take a controlling interest in the company.
SES is developing two of the world's largest solar generating projects in the Imperial Valley and Mojave Desert in Southern California. Combined, the two projects will initially produce 800 MW of power and up to 1,750 MW with contract extensions when the plants are fully constructed. The partnership with NTR provides SES with the financial strength and commercial expertise to deliver these projects, the company says.
SES' concentrating solar energy technology, the SunCatcher, combines a mirrored concentrator dish with a high-efficiency Stirling engine specially designed to convert reflected sunlight to electricity. The technology has been in testing for several years at the DOE's Sandia National Laboratories.
