신재생 에너지만을 활용하는 '갈라파고스 공항' Galapagos airport evolves to renewable energy only(VIDEO)
태평양 전쟁시 일본의 선제 공격에 대비 위한 전초기지 사용
2011년 부터 풍력발선시설 등 친환경 신재생발전시설 활용 탈바꿈
Galapagos airport 갈라파고스 발트라 공항 SOURCE latestnewslink.com
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케이콘텐츠 편집
갈라파고스 제도(Galapagos islands)는 거대한 거북이로 유명하며, 찰스 다윈이 진화론에 대한 영감을 얻은 곳이기도 하다. 이제 이 섬은 또 다른 새로운 방향으로 진행하고 있다. 이는 섬에 위치한 공항이 풍력 및 태양에너지만을 활용하여 가동하는 유일한 지역이라는 것이다.
이는 태평양 전쟁시 일본의 선재공격에 대비하기 위한 전초기지임을 의미하는 것이며, 각종 무기들이 준비되어 있었다. 최근까지 섬 주위에서는 해체된 폭탄을 발견할 정도였다. 그러나 지난 2011년부터 시작된 15개월의 엔지니어링 작업 및 40 백만 달러의 비용 투입을 통해 이 제도는 완전히 달라지고 있다. 지난해 갈라파고스 공항은 친환경적인 설계와 관련한 미국내 주요 상을 수상하기도 하였다.
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Galapagos airport evolves to renewable energy only
galapagos airport evolves to renewable energy only yahoo news uk image by uk.news.yahoo.com
July 18, 2015 by Héctor Velasco
The Galapagos islands are known, of course, for those lumbering, giant tortoises and as the inspiration for Darwin's theory of evolution.
Now they boast another cool distinction: an airport believed to be the only one in the world working exclusively on wind and solar energy.
The metamorphosis to an earth-friendly place serving nature-loving tourists could not be more stark, considering that the airport was actually born of war.
During World War II, US forces built an airfield here on Baltra, one of the 13 islands that make up the Galapagos archipelago in the Pacific, roughly 1,000 kilometers (660 miles) off Ecuador.
It was an outpost meant to counter a possible Japanese advance in the Pacific war theater. Weapons were stored here. Until recently, you could even find deactivated bombs nearby.
But after a 15-month engineering feat that began in 2011 and cost $40 million, the facility could not be more different. Last year, it won a major US award for environmentally friendly design.
"We've gone from being a place where there were military and aircraft to being an airport that is 100 percent ecological," said Ezequiel Barrenechea, president of the Argentine corporation operating eco-friendly Seymour airport, one of three serving the Galapagos.
"Here, everything works with renewable energy," adds the airport's manager, Jorge Rosillo.
Indeed, there have been changes big and small.
The Americans who came in to oversee the wartime military airfield brought dogs and cats as pets. These critters preyed on the island's iguanas—prehistoric looking, some of them sporting fabulous shades of blue, red and yellow or a rainbow-like mix of them—and the iguanas vanished, for decades.
With time, however, after the war biologists reintroduced the cat-sized creatures, this piece of the Galapagos once again features the lounging lizards.
Today, when they are spotted hanging out on the landing strip as a plane full of tourists approaches, specially trained personnel go out, pick them up by the tail and carry them to safety.
Yes, once again, the island is safe for them.
Solar panels, wind turbines
The airport's environmental conversion began in 2011 when the simple wooden building that was most of the terminal was taken apart, piece by piece. It had a metal control tower that looked like a giant standing in the middle of nowhere.
The wood and anything else at hand deemed useful was employed to rebuild the airport with the strict mandate that it be totally self-sustaining.
It works with solar panels and three giant wind turbines. The terminal has no glass panes in its windows, leaving it open to the island's strong winds. Some 400,000 people pass annually through the Baltra airport.
Holding up the building as part of its foundation are cylindrical pillars that used to be pipes for moving oil—a seeming slap at dirty energy sources.
As for energy used to run the place, the only—necessary—exception to the sustainable source rule are air conditioners that cool a room housing machinery.
"Building in the Galapagos was already difficult because you have to bring everything over by boat. But building in a sustainable fashion is even more complex anywhere," said Barrenechea.
"Add all of this up and you have a major engineering achievement," he added.
But the effort paid off. In 2014 the airport won a LEED Gold sustainability certification, an honor given out by the US Green Building Council.
It was the first airport to get such a nod for its entire structure. Until then only a San Francisco terminal extension had received the plaudit.
To compensate for the lack of air conditioning in the terminal, the 6,000-square-meter building has very high ceilings that are finished with volcanic stone, typical of the area.
All this attention to Mother Nature feels, well, natural, Barrenechea insists.
"A user does not notice the difference because it works just like any other airport," he said.
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