Centerlines - April 2008 - (Page 46) N O W U N D E R WAY Rental Car Project a Catalyst to Solar Savings at Fresno B Y N ICOL E N E L S ON WHAT STARTED OUT as a consolidated rental car project has burst into a solar-powered explosion at Fresno Yosemite International Airport. During the project’s planning phase, pricing estimates were projecting higher than the budget allowed, so the airport began investigating ways to “save money and incorporate some green into the project,” said Kevin Meikle, airports planning manager with City of Fresno Department of Airports. “Since we wanted to put shade on our new ready/return lot, we looked into having a solar company come in to install solar panels.” Fresno first went to the California Public Utility Commission to apply for the state’s aggressive solar rebate program. Following acceptance into the 2006 Self-Generation Incentive Program, the airport put a standalone request for proposal for the solar industry out on the street. “The unique part is what we told the industry: We want you to design, build, own, maintain and operate a solar system. We’ll hand over the rebate incentive to you, and then we’ll buy power from you instead of from the grid,” Meikle said. WorldWater & Solar Technologies Corp. submitted a proposal that recognized its competition wasn’t other solar companies, but the grid. “They came in with pricing recognizing that they had to compete with the grid to make this work,” Meikle said. “So WorldWater gave us a fixed price for 20 years and when you calculate in all of the annual increases you usually get from the grid, they blew the competition away.” Over a 20-year period, Fresno estimates the fixed-price power purchase agreement will save the airport $13 million in power costs. And, the beauty of the situation is that the By April 1, 2008, the 20-acre Fresno solarpower-generation site will feature 2 megawatts of panels producing 4 million kilowatt hours of power, or 40 percent of demand at Fresno Yosemite International Airport. project is not costing the airport a single penny to implement. “It is a win-win situation, Meikle said. “It is a win for the rental car project because we get shade; it is a win for us because we have a fixed price on power for 20 years; and the icing is we are saving $13 million in power costs over 20 years. Not to mention that it is a green project and Rendering of solar-powered rental car ready/return lot—part of Fresno Yosemite International Airport’s consolidated rental car project. another way to minimize our environmental footprint.” Additional icing on the project is Fresno’s acceptance in the 2007 California Solar Initiative program. “We got double incentives with double the capacity, so our solar project doubled,” Meikle said. Construction on the project began in May 2007 with shade covers expected to debut in Fall 2008. ALSO UNDERWAY Boise Air Traffic Control Tower On Jan. 4, Boise Airport held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new air traffic control tower. Preliminary target date for completion of the 289-foot tower and CAT III landing system is September 2009 with actual commissioning in late 2010 or early 2011. Eugene Airport Air Cargo Building Construction of a 15,000-square-foot, LEED-certified air cargo building with an adjoining ramp area is underway at Eugene Airport. LEED Certifi cation qualifications that will be employed in the project include sourcing building materials from 500 or fewer miles away, using building materials from renewable resources, and a commissioning plan that includes healthy building standards. Huntsville Passenger Waiting Area Huntsville commenced construction in December 2007 on a project that will add two wings to its main corridor and enhance the amount of public area space four-fold. Featuring 30-foot-high panoramic windows overlooking the airfield operation, the west wing will service outbound passengers complete with checkpoint security, and the east wing will feature a large lobby seating area to accommodate up to 200 people awaiting deplaning passengers. The 18-month project has an expected completion of summer 2009. 46 CENTERLINES | APRIL 2008
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