The CPG 5-kWe Dish-Stirling Development Program

Through a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Cummins Power Generation, Inc. (CPG) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) have entered into a joint venture to develop and commercialize economically competitive dish-Stirling systems for remote power applications. CPG plans to commercialize 5-kW_e systems that can be used in remote locations for water pumping and village electrification, or connected to an existing utility grid. The $14 million Dish-Stirling Joint Venture Program (JVP) is being conducted in three phases over a 3 1/2-year period in accordance with the Cummins Total Quality System (TQS) for new product development. Sixteen systems representing three generations of technology will be fielded and tested. The JVP is being funded equally by a consortium led by CPG and the DOE. Following completion of the program, CPG's commercialization effort will continue with limited production expected to start in 1995.

In this paper, the program plan and technical approach for the JVP is presented. A description and current status of the key components and discussions of the key technical issues are also provided.