Building a Green Hangar

(MoneyWatch)  One of the unfortunate byproducts of plunging oil prices is that there will be less incentive to focus on alternative energy generation. Of course, that doesn't mean that projects will stop completely, but it will take some pretty exciting projects to keep people interested. The world's first LEED Platinum hangar could be one of those in the aviation world.

The project to make Hangar 25 at Burbank Airport in Southern California extremely green has just wrapped up with some great results. Solar panels on top of the hangar create 110 percent of the hangar's electricity requirements. Vehicles around the hangar are powered by the solar panels as well. There are big fans and environmentally friendly materials in use that reduce the requirements for air conditioning significantly. There's also sustainable landscaping, low water usage, etc. All in all, this is a great building that operates very efficiently.

Let's hope that the airline and airport worlds continue to look toward sustainable projects like this. Though the cost of oil is down, the need to be green will continue to increase as government pressure begins to step up. Oh yeah, and there's that whole "do good for the environment" thing as well.