Solar power tower?

 

Aug 16 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Jessica Portner San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

NASA has a revolutionary vision for Hangar One, the toxics-coated hulk that once housed a dirigible at Mountain View's Moffett Field: Wrap the 200-foot-high landmark with a solar-paneled skin that pumps out electricity.

The Silicon Valley icon could become the largest solar-powered building in the state by the end of next year, generating enough juice to power 3,000 homes and house a new aerospace museum. That is, if the U.S. Navy -- charged with the toxic cleanup -- doesn't decide to demolish the hangar first.

"Mars rovers have solar panels, and so does the space station. Why not here on Earth?" said Diane Farrar, one of the leaders of the preservation campaign at NASA/Ames Research Center, which owns the building. "We could call this the biggest solar system in California."

The striking gray-and-black structure, so large it could pack three ships the size of the Titanic under its roof, was built in 1932 to house the dirigible USS Macon, a lighter-than-air airship similar to a blimp. The garage was central to the Navy's effort to develop a robust aerospace industry in the region, which evolved into the technology hub that became Silicon Valley. The hangar was sealed three years ago when the Environmental Protection Agency discovered that asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, coated the structure.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's ambitious pitch is the most speculative of about a dozen options for the hangar -- and far from the simplest choice.

Although NASA is the building's owner, the Navy is responsible for removing the toxic chemicals and will make the final call on Hangar One's fate, within the bounds of federal environmental and historic preservation laws. As recently as last month, Navy officials said they favored demolishing it or stripping the mammoth structure to its skeleton, which sparked a public outcry. Thursday, Navy officials will present revised scenarios for the hangar's future.

With the zeal of a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm, NASA preservationists are trying to stave off the wrecking ball while quietly selling solar corporations on the image of Hangar One soaking up the sun. So far, at least three solar firms have warmed to the idea.

The proposed plan, estimated to cost $43 million -- well over twice the price of demolition -- is for solar companies to lease a stripped-clean hangar and swathe it in photovoltaic cells that turn light into electricity.

Companies would help pay for the enterprise through government incentives; President's Bush's recently signed energy plan, for example, provides tax credits for commercial solar systems. Solar corporations then would recoup their investment by selling electricity the hangar would generate. NASA would help pay for the installation of a high-tech SpaceWorld Hangar One museum inside.

Dan Kammen, a professor of energy science and policy at the University of California-Berkeley, and an expert on alternative energy, envisions that if the hangar does go solar, it could create enough energy to act as a regional power plant.

"Remember blackouts on summer days?" Kammen said. "This is a social benefit as well."

Solar companies say there are various ways to encase Hangar One -- any of which would require enough solar sheets to cover seven football fields.

One method would be to harvest the light from the surface by applying rectangular solar panels. Another option would be to use "sunslates" -- tiles that are glued and wired together. The hangar could also be outfitted with a flexible, stainless steel foil sprayed with photovoltaic material. The foil could then be attached to the hangar's siding and unfurled.

With government rebates plus the electricity profits, the project could pay for itself in 15 years, said Joe Morrissey, vice president for sales at the Sacramento-based Atlantis Energy Systems, a photovoltaic materials company that is considering making a bid.

"It could be stunning," Morrissey said.

But Jane Turnbull, former president of the League of Women Voters of the Los Altos-Mountain View Area, questioned the wisdom of using any government money on such an undertaking when cities in the region are stretched to pay firefighters and teachers.

"If there is a private party interested in making that investment, that could make some sense," she said. "I am concerned, though, about using federal dollars when there are a lot of other needs in our communities."

Demolishing the hangar would cost $16 million, according to Navy estimates, compared with $20 million to decontaminate and repanel it without a solar cloak.

Local politicians have yet to weigh in on NASA's plan. A crew of Bay Area environmentalists and history buffs who recently formed a committee called Save Hangar One this week circulated a letter imploring state and federal politicians to press the Navy to preserve the architectural spectacle.

The group also backs the solar scheme, which would preserve the hangar for posterity and make the proposed museum possible.

"The Navy is being short sighted and selfish if it wants to fix it as cheaply as possible," said Carl Honaker, the airports director for Santa Clara County who helped run Moffett Field before the hangar was shut. "Tearing down this wonderful building is the wrong way of dealing with history."