NASA is going net-zero. The NASA Ames Research Center in Moffet Field, California, held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Sustainability Base (imagine a world with new Sustainability bases rather than new military bases). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has a long history of utilizing renewable energy – primarily solar energy – to power its operations in space, even while solar power went largely unrecognized here on Earth.

Now that solar power is all the rage again, NASA brings that expertise back into the atmosphere with this new research center, a net-zero energy building. The base will act as a real-world demonstration of the potential of sustainable design. Among the high-efficiency and renewable energy installations for the building are:

• 72 geothermal heat pumps
• Solar hot water systems
• Sensors that react to changing weather conditions (i.e. sunlight, temperature, wind and energy usage)
• Natural daylighting
• Green technologies developed at NASA adapted for use on Earth

The building is expected to use 90 percent less water than a conventionally designed building of equal size. The maintenance systems will be monitored via the Internet (think Smart Grid technology), a move NASA expects, in combination with clean energy resources, to greatly reduce maintenance costs. The building will stand on steel frames, a highly recyclable product.

NASA is vying for LEED Platinum Level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The Sustainability Base will cost $20.6 million and should be completed by the end of 2011. NASA predicts the Sustainability Base will be the highest performing building in the federal government. The building is named in honor of Apollo 11, Tranquility Base and the 40th anniversary of humankind’s first walk on the moon.

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Posted on August 31st in Solar News by Dan.