Clean Energy: The Sterling Engine

A while back I came across the Sterling engine.  The Sterling engine takes waste heat and turns it into piston motion.  Obviously if it moves we can generate electricity from the motion.

The main problem with Sterlings is the efficiency of the power extraction.  Using waste heat the available energy for extraction is significantly less than the original fuel.

Wind Turbines and Controls

Wind turbines faced a similar energy extraction problem.  The folks at NREL chose some advanced controls to extract the maximum amount of energy from the available wind.  With wind there isn’t a consistent energy source and maximizing its extraction is key to making the technology economically viable.

Controls…

The available energy for extraction is small.  Like the wind turbines, Sterlings need control to maximize the energy extraction.

Thoughts?