Marketing Ivanpah As World's Greenest Airport

By Robert L. Candiotti

September 28, 2010

There are numerous international airports around the world that justifiably promote their renewable energy components.

Still, the currently proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport - to be located 30 miles south of Las Vegas near Nevada's border with Southern California - could eventually fly beyond these global airports' clean energy accomplishments and market itself as the world's greenest airport.

In his opening remarks on September 7, 2010, during the National Clean Energy Summit 3.0 at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada's Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the state's leading industries are tourism and mining. He called these "two driving economic forces."

Next he stated, "We want to add a third economic driver, and this is renewable energy jobs."

Since the beginning of my nascent visions for the proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport - constructed between Jean and Primm, Nevada - I have thought about how fascinating Ivanpah Airport could be if it was constructed as the international airport with the world's most renewable energy designs.

So, as I was in the audience at UNLV earlier this month listening to Reid's attention to expanding renewable energy jobs in Nevada, my thinking immediately combined the new Ivanpah Valley Airport with numerous renewable energy jobs.

And then, there was a smooth segue to more detailed comments about the job benefits of clean energy projects.

Further into the instructive program of the National Clean Energy Summit 3.0, Austan Goolsbee, staff director and chief economist on President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, pointed out his view that the area of clean energy technologies, "unlike very advanced computer technologies, health technologies, et cetera, the area of energy efficiency and clean energy in general employs people across the entire skill distribution."

This respectfully means the whole range between manicured fingers and white collar jobs to callous hands doing blue collar jobs.

Austan Goolsbee, chief White House economist.

Clean energy employs "people across entire skill distribution." Courtesy American Progress Action.

Goolsbee continued, "It's not just for the benefit of PhDs, scientists working in a lab, or of extremely skilled people," but there are also currently unemployed construction workers and manufacturing workers that can be involved in green jobs. "It offers wider distribution of [job] opportunity than almost any advanced future leaning opportunity that you can think of."

So, again I was thinking about the wide range of job opportunities that a spectacular new green international airport - at the border of Southern Nevada and Southern California - could offer.

Reid and Goolsbee encouraged my views that wonderful clean energy jobs could result from the actuality of the proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport.

Then, relating to 21st Century green commercial aviation infrastructure in Southern Nevada, my thoughts that were generated at Clean Energy Summit 3.0 were raised another level about two weeks later, on September 20, at the sustainable energy development round-table also at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, hosted by Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada's 3rd Congressional District.

Dr. Thomas Piechota, UNLV Dir. of Sustainability.

Excellent marketing opportunities can be attached to significant energy sustainability milestones.

Dr. Thomas Piechota, UNLV's Director of Sustainability and Multi-Disciplinary Research, touched upon marketing opportunities that can be attached to significant energy sustainability milestones. He understands today's marketing effectiveness with renewable energy advancements (one successful marketing program example that comes to my mind is Las Vegas CityCenter's renewable energy successes) can add a strong dimension to a product's promotional presentation.

I started reflecting on the potential of marketing "the world's greenest airport." Like I say, listening to Dr. Piechota, my thoughts were raised another full level.

Wind turbines add power at Boston's Logan Airport.

Logan International is a leading airport for clean energy. Courtesy Massachusetts Port Authority.

Right now, there are, in fact, several airports around the world that have made notable green energy advancements.

For example, Logan International Airport in Boston is promoted as having integrated both solar and wind power. Denver International Airport is said to now have solar energy resources. Zurich Airport in Switzerland is noted as having solar cells, as well as a nature conservation zone between its two runways.

San Francisco's International Airport is said to have an abundance of solar panels. Munich Airport in Germany is said to be working toward complete carbon neutrality by 2020. Abu Dhabi International Airport is reported to be making renewable energy progress. Israel's Ben Gurion Airport is said to have a 50-kilowatt solar project completed this year.

Still, I think possible renewable energy advancements at Southern Nevada's proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport can fly far beyond what several impressive international airports have heretofore accomplished.

250-mile line being built across Nevada.

Nevada contains vast renewable energy resources that can be moved along new major transmission link.

As I see it, Southern Nevada has quite a lot going for itself with regard to making an airport that abounds with renewable energy designs and details.

First of all, to create in Southern Nevada the world's greenest airport, there is the very nearby University of Nevada, Las Vegas, that is constantly and deeply involved with sustainable energy research and development.

Also, Nevada is blessed with vast sustainable energy resources - excessive sunlight, lots of wind, abundant geothermal assets.

Nevada's primary energy company, NV Energy, not only is committed to a renewable energy future for the state, with numerous plans for renewable energy development, but it also is involved in the construction of a 250-mile transmission line between Ely and Las Vegas, that can move excessive energy back and forth between the north and south of Nevada.

How interesting it would be if Ivanpah Airport itself sometimes created more energy than it needed that could be transmitted into metropolitan Las Vegas, or further to the north along NV Energy's transmission link.

Where I have lived enjoyably for 12 years now, in a place that I believe needs some creative and intelligent makeovers for the 21st Century, I think constructing the world's greenest airport would be fun, fascinating and fruitful - for those directly involved, and for Nevada itself.

To me, Ivanpah Valley Airport has so much potential (not to mention need), once the complicated construction project is completed, it would not be too hard for it to be energetically and successfully marketed as the world's greenest airport.