Infinia on the Sun

“The amount of solar energy that hits the surface of the earth every minute is greater than the total amount of energy that the world's human population consumes in one year. ” Sandia National Laboratories

Think about it - this means that on a given day, the earth receives over 10,000 times more energy from the sun than all of man-kind will use during that day. Explore? Drill? Pump? Refine? Process? Burn? Emit? Clean Up? Forget about it! Solar energy is clean. Solar energy is renewable. Solar energy is equally accessible to rich and poor countries alike. Solar energy can be harvested at or very near the point of consumption. And tapping into solar energy can reduce the environmental burden of our developed economies.

So what is standing in our way? Frankly, two things. First, corporations, consumers and public policymakers in developed countries are just now realizing that, when it comes to energy - the second largest industry in the world – “best cost” needs to factor in environmental costs and sustainability advantages. And second, the photovoltaic products available to harvest solar energy are expensive to purchase and install and they are relatively inefficient at converting sunlight into electricity.

Infinia is commercializing a Stirling Solar product that combines its long life, highly reliable and zero-maintenance Stirling engine with a low-cost snap-together dish concentrator to economically harvest solar energy on an industrial scale.  Infinia’s Stirling Solar products convert solar energy into electricity at a lower cost and at twice the efficiency of existing solar power generation products. Click here for a PDF of the product spec sheet.

Infinia has been successfully developing and delivering innovative Stirling engines and generators for difficult applications since 1985.  In 2005, Infinia fabricated a solar technology demonstration unit by integrating its one kilowatt (1kW) Stirling generator with the first available solar concentrator it could find.  The solar technology demonstrator successfully produced clean power from the sun and provided an excellent test and learning platform for Infinia’s engineers.  With this experience, and supported by many leading solar experts and very capable vendors, Infinia set out to design a low cost, easy-to-install solar power generation appliance incorporating automotive scale materials, and design features that can be installed in singles or by the hundreds.  This effort has produced the Stirling Solar.

The first-build unit was commissioned in early October 2007 at Infinia’s facility in southeastern Washington State.  This significant achievement confirms that Infinia is well on the way to producing the world’s first, high volume, low cost, solar power generation product that is suitable for installation in a very wide range of locations and applications. 

“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy.  What a source of power!  I hope we don’t have to run out of oil and coal before we tackle that.”
Thomas Edison

Infinia’s mission is to improve the quality of life by changing how the world generates and uses energy.

Infinia’s revolutionary Stirling Solar will make more power than and cost less than photovoltaic (PV) solar energy systems.  Infinia's Stirling Solar concentrates sunlight onto a 3kW free-piston Stirling engine to generate up to eight megawatt-hours of electricity per year.   By replacing grid-supplied electricity, a one megawatt (1MW) array of Infinia’s 3kW systems will remove 1,867 tons of carbon dioxide, 7 tons of nitrogen oxides and 11 tons of sulfur dioxide from the atmosphere annually.  The carbon dioxide avoidance is equivalent to the burning of 190,476 gallons of gasoline or 8.6 rail cars of coal. 

The self contained Stirling Solar is easy to deploy and requires no water source for cooling.  The proven reliability of the Infinia free-piston Stirling engine enables extended periods of unattended operation.  This minimizes O&M costs and improves economic performance versus other forms of power generation.

Infinia's Stirling products are made from common materials including steel, copper, aluminum and glass, utilizing the same low-cost manufacturing techniques used to make affordable consumer products.  Infinia's Stirling Solar is constructed without producing any harmful chemical wastes or byproducts. Even better, at the end of its ultra-long life, it can be completely recycled. 

All of the electronics, including a grid-connect inverter and two-axis sun tracking system, are fully integrated with Infinia's Stirling Solar, providing easier and lower cost installation than traditional solar products.  With either a single 3kW unit or a 4MW array powering a factory or shopping center, overall cost savings will be immediate and significant.

Infinia's Stirling Solar products are eye-catching systems that produce clean electricity.  With a system conversion efficiency of over 24%, Infinia's Stirling Solar will produce up to two times as many kilowatt-hours of electricity as similarly sized PV systems.  Good looks, more power, and a sunny disposition will change how the world uses energy!

If you are interested in learning more about these revolutionary products, Contact Infinia