The Stirling engine has long been touted as the next big thing: It's not picky about fuel and has few moving parts. But its drawbacks—including long warmup times and the degree of precision machining needed to build it—has meant that the promise of the Stirling engine has always existed just over the horizon. (See "Run Silent, Run Long" in Power & Energy, February 2005.)

The same could be said of solar energy. That's why it seems appropriate that two of the world's largest solar projects, announced within a month of each other over the summer, both rely on Stirling engines. When completed, the projects will provide as much as 800 to 1,750 MW of peak power to two southern California utilities.

Tens of thousands of these solar-powered Stirling engines, shown here at a New Mexico test facility, will soon cover the California desert.

Both projects are being developed by Stirling Energy Systems of Phoenix, Ariz., using technology tested at Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico. A mirrored dish some 35 feet across concentrates sunlight onto one end of a 25 kW engine. The sunlight heats hydrogen inside the engine, which expands, driving pistons that turn a generator. The unit has been rated at about 30 percent efficiency, roughly twice as high as typical photovoltaic cells on the market.

One of the projects, contracted by Southern California Edison, calls for 20,000 of these dishes to be erected on 4,500 acres in the Mojave Desert. The second, announced by San Diego Gas and Electric, will place another 12,000 dishes on some 2,000 acres in California's Imperial Valley. Each project has an option for adding dishes in the future.

Although not yet commercially proven, the Stirling dishes come along at a critical time for SDG&E. The utility has pledged to supply 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. The 300 MW first phase of the solar farm will supply nearly 4 percent of the company's total projected demand.

An international engineering company has been hired to plan a fully sustainable city in China. The company, Arup, signed a contract last month with Shanghai Industrial Investment Corp. to plan systems for low energy consumption with minimum net carbon emissions.

The city will be built at Dongtan, on an island at the mouth of the Yangtze River in Shanghai. According to Arup, the city will live on its own water resources through conservation, recycling, and living treatment systems. Other considerations will be protection of a nearby wetland habitat and sustainable food production from land close to the city.

Arup is based in London and will coordinate much of the work through its Seattle office.

The first phase of the project is due for completion by 2010, when Shanghai hosts the World Expo.

Most backers of hydrogen-powered vehicles tout the energy independence angle. Forgoing gasoline, after all, would mean not having to import oil from (among other places) Saudi Arabia. But a recent study by researchers at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., suggests that drivers would benefit as well: They—and everyone else—would be healthier.

Mark Jacobson, a Stanford professor of civil engineering, and his colleagues focused on illnesses attributable to emissions from gasoline-burning internal combustion engines. Nitrogen dioxide from tailpipes, for instance, has been implicated in asthma, and ozone is thought to cause respiratory illnesses. Shifting from standard ICE autos to hybrid electrics could save as many as 2,370 lives a year, Jacobson found.

Switching to cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells could save around 3,000 if the hydrogen is made by coal gasification or as many as 6,350 if natural gas or wind power makes the hydrogen.

These health savings were calculated to be as much as $200 billion a year—a pretty good chunk of the cost of switching over to a hydrogen economy.

Seeking to open new markets in Europe and Central Asia, Turkish Airlines recently exercised options for eight Boeing Next-Generation 737-800s. The airplanes are scheduled for delivery in 2008 and are worth an estimated $542 million at list prices. The options were part of an order placed by Turkish Airlines last year for 15 Boeing 737s.

"We recognize the tremendous economic advantages of the Next-Generation 737s, having operated them since 1998. Moving forward on our growth strategy, the Next-Generation 737s' operational flexibility will play an integral part of that strategy," said Temel Kotil, president and CEO of Turkish Airlines.

Turkish Airlines operates a mix of 43 Boeing Classics and Next-Generation 737s.

"The Turkish economy is expected to grow at a faster rate than elsewhere in Europe over the next several years," said Aldo Basile, sales director for Turkey, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The Boeing Next-Generation 737 has proven its value to Turkish Airlines and will continue to do so in the future."

The Next-Generation 737 operates at an altitude 2,000 feet higher than the competition, so the airplane cruises high above congested airspace, according to Boeing.

Hurricane Katrina could impair global production of semiconductors, according to iSuppli Corp., an El Segundo, Calif., company that provides electronics industry intelligence.

The recent hurricane has caused the shutdown of a New Orleans facility owned by Air Products and Chemicals Inc. that produces hydrogen used in the manufacturing of silicon wafers.

Air Products is one of the major suppliers of hydrogen used in the deposition of epitaxial films on silicon wafers, which are used for the manufacturing of semiconductors worldwide. The company's industrial gas complex in New Orleans is the site of much of its hydrogen manufacturing activity.

Although the extent of the damage to the facility is unknown, Air Products indicated it will be working to restore operations quickly. The timing of the plant's restart will depend on the availability of power, utilities, communications, infrastructure access, and the extent of the damage, according to the company.

Based on initial assessments, damage from the hurricane will affect Air Products' capability to supply customers with hydrogen from the New Orleans plant for an extended period. Exacerbating the situation, another Air Products-owned liquid hydrogen production facility in Canada will be experiencing a scheduled shutdown. As a result, the company declared it will be unable to fulfill its obligations for delivery of liquid hydrogen.

The supply disruption may affect the manufacturing of epitaxial films deposited on silicon substrates. These films are critical in the manufacturing of high-voltage semiconductors used in power management applications.

Other suppliers of electronic-grade hydrogen are increasing their output to compensate for the shortfall. Alternative purification techniques are being implemented by silicon manufacturers that will allow lower grades of hydrogen gas to be used for making silicon and epitaxial films.

The full impact on the semiconductor supply chain remains unknown.

China's Ministry of Railways, Dalian Locomotive Works, and Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. of LaGrange, Ill., have signed an agreement for the supply of three hundred 6,000-horsepower locomotives, EMD's most powerful diesel-electric locomotive. The locomotives feature the latest heavy haul traction systems used on North America's major Class l railways and are being jointly designed and manufactured with Dalian Locomotive under a technology license in Dalian, China.

ArvinMeritor Inc. of Troy, Mich., plans to close its light vehicle systems shock absorber assembly operation in Pulaski, Tenn. The company will transfer a portion of the production to its Detroit and Toronto facilities, with remaining business being phased out by July 2006.

Hyundai and Kia Motors have selected Delphi Corp. to supply Euro V diesel common rail system on two engine families. Delphi will supply the pump, injectors, rails, and electronic control unit to help Hyundai-Kia meet Euro V emission standards.

TRW Automotive Holding Corp. of Livonia, Mich., which makes active and passive safety systems, entered into a definitive agreement with Dalphi Metal Espana, S.A., or Dalphimetal, to purchase a 68.4 percent stake in Dalphimetal for 113 million euros, or approximately $137 million, plus the assumption of debt totaling 84 million euros, or about $103 million. Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, Dalphimetal designs, develops, and manufactures airbags and steering wheels for European automakers.

Westport Innovations Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, has signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture with Beijing Tianhai Industry Co. Ltd. of China to sell liquefied natural gas tanks for transportation applications.

Lundström Design of Stockholm released TouchCAD 3.5, a software program that links 3-D modeling and parametric unfolding as an integrated unit.

Roland DGA Corp. of Chicago has introduced its Packaging Prototyping System, a software application that allows manufacturers to produce packaging prototypes in about one day.

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