Plans Stirling Engine

Tessera pulls the plug on huge Colorado solar plant

Tessera Solar’s ambitious bid to build a 200-megawatt concentrating solar power plant in Colorado’s Sun Luis Valley has come to an end. The project was unpopular with some local residents, and studies were still being conducted.

The project had previously scaled back from 200 megawatts to 145 megawatts in an effort by Tessera Solar to address local’s concerns that the SunCatchers would be too loud and could be heard throughout the valley. SunCatchers are large, satellite-dish like structures with a reflective surface that focuses sunlight on a Stirling engine, which in turn powers an electricity-producing generator.

“There were a lot of different studies over two years. The county was satisfied with some of the studies but wanted others,” said Brent Bailey, vice president and general counsel for Tessera Solar.

With the ongoing hearings and studies , restraints on the project and no power-purchase agreement, it didn’t make economic sense.

“It wasn’t going to be an economically viable project at the end of the day,” he said.

This was the last active development for Tessera Solar, according to Bailey.

The company has one completed project in Peoria, Ariz., that went commercial in March 2010, he said, which the company will continue to manage and operate.

The San Luis Renewable Communities Alliance, an advocacy organization that opposed the project, was pleased with Tessera’s decision.

"Now we can focus on what we do want, rather than fighting ill-borne projects generated by those who care nothing for rural places" said rancher Julie Sullivan, in an email to alliance members.

The group is advocating for solar gardens and smaller installations rather than the huge projects slated for the sun-rich valley.

"Tessera is the first industrial solar proposal to get this far in Colorado, and even though this particular technology and company failed, it won't be the last," said alliance founder Ceal Smith. "If the utilities and 'Big Solar' industrialists have their way, all of Colorado's solar energy will be generated here.”

What’s not yet determined is what will happen with the land slated for the project.

“We have had some interest by other developers,” Bailey said. “But we don’t have any plans yet.”

In the last year, Tessera and NTR PLC., of Ireland, which has a majority share in the company, have taken advantage of at least two other interested developers.

machine nr21 Waterpump Stirling Engine - bubble tea, teas, matcha ...

Waterpumpstirling engine. more info stirling.devink.net Engine no 21, ‘Stirling Water Pump’ This is a Ringbom Stirling engine with a water pump. The pump is a variant of the pump used in one of the LTD models from Rudy Mémin (with reference to his new booklet ISBN no 2-9518283-4-9). It is surprising to experience how much power such a Stirling engine has, and the height it can reach with a tea-warmer as a source of heat. The advantage of this configuration is that proper use is made of the over pressure and under pressure of the Stirling engine without too much loss of energy as a result of friction. The displacer piston (conductor) is made a bit larger and naturally it has a balance spring to keep the weight of the displacer as low as possible. Consequently it will run smoothly on a tea-warmer. To separate air and water I used a piece of a toy balloon as a membrane in the pump housing. The advantage is that water cannot enter the Stirling engine, but the disadvantage is that the capacity of the pump is slightly reduced. This engine has become a demonstration model to show the vertical lift of a pump driven by a Stirling engine.

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