Solar-powered Stirling engines are less scalable than solar panels, and also more complex than a solar-electric system. They also require two-axis accurate solar tracking, unlike solar panels.OverviewA solar powered Stirling engine is a powered by a temperature gradient generated by the sun. Even though can run with a small temperature gradient, it is more efficient to use patented a type of solar-powered Stirling engine on August 3, 1976. It used solar energy to pump water from a river, lake, or stream. The purpose of this apparatus is to “provide a low-cost, low-technology.