A Sunshine Deal

California may host the largest solar-energy project in history. Southern California Edison (SCE), with 13 million customers, has just announced a deal with Phoenix-based Stirling Energy Systems that could result in a huge solar farm.

“This is a very high efficiency system,” says Frank Wilkins, solar thermal team leader in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “It’s modular and has low water consumption, which is critical in desert areas. Of all the solar energies of the moment, this is at the top…You have to figure, this exercise is going to get [Stirling Energy Systems] more competitive in the energy market,” Wilkins says.

Technology Review