Stirling engines

I first became aware of these about 6 years ago.  They are quite interesting gizmos in that they can run on any energy source.  There are demo models of these that can run off the heat energy coming off the palm of your hand while you are holding it.

These little marvels are more than just curiosities though.  Stirling engines are being used in submarines.  Also, NASA has worked on these for possible use in space missions.  Since they do not require combustion to run these engines, they are quite handy in such situations as subs and spacecraft, where air is not easily accessed.

There is one that got my attention in connection to my series of posts about making a permanent space station on the moon.  Here is a place where such a device may come in quite handy.

In those configurations that I have seen, I am not sure that there is one that would match up nicely with what you need on the moon.  This is most likely because no one is on the moon at the present time.  (lol)  But could one be designed that would be suitable for lunar base needs for power?  Would it be nuclear powered or solar powered or both?

The reason I am interested in this is that in order to do anything serious on the moon, you would definitely need a power source.  Perhaps photovoltaic power would be a good thing, but could you improve upon this? A solar trough design, for example, may be more efficient than photovoltaic cells.  If used in combination with a Stirling engine, you could get the best combination of efficiency, reliability, and portability.