Thursday, December 25, 2008
Ivanpah Valley Airport Needs To Be Seen As Independent Space With Stand-Alone Definition
By Robert L. Candiotti
Even though Ivanpah Valley Airport will be only 40 miles south of Las Vegas, it should become an independent space with
a stand-alone definition.
Ivanpah's unique image will prove to be a significant asset.
Ivanpah Valley
Airport - if at the core of an integrated, futuristic transportation system - will become known for its accessibility
from the south. It will have an allure for people who live between Ivanpah and Los Angeles International Airport.
Among the reasons that support the inevitability of Ivanpah is, aside from servicing Las Vegas and population centers
to the north (such as Mesquite and St. George), Ivanpah will also service California's San Bernardino and Riverside
Counties. Ivanpah must be connected via "clear sailing" from the large populations south of Las Vegas in California.
Couple this connectivity with the international nature of Ivanpah Airport, and, correspondingly, with Ivanpah Valley
including Primm and Jean, the location will have an independent space and stand-alone definition.
Of course,
Ivanpah must still be easily connected to Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport and the Las Vegas Strip itself.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Today Is 60th Anniversary of McCarran International Airport In Las Vegas
By Robert L. Candiotti
Today - December 19, 2008 - is McCarran International Airport's 60th anniversary.
McCarran
is owned by Nevada's Clark County. The Clark County Department of Aviation oversees the airport.
When Las Vegas' commercial
airport began business 60 years ago, only four airlines (Bonanza, Western, TWA and United) arrived and departed. In 2007,
more than 30 airline companies used McCarran, and more than 47 million travelers passed through its terminals.
A significant portion of Las Vegas' success over the decades is directly related to the competent development of McCarran
International Airport.
A decade from now, when the new Ivanpah Valley Airport opens 40 miles south of Las
Vegas to primarily handle international flights, Ivanpah and McCarran will operate in tandem to provide Las Vegas, Southern
Nevada and the broader region with advanced and attractive air travel facilities.
3:16 pm pst
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Ivanpah Will Have To Be More Than An Airport
By Robert L. Candiotti
It is clear to me that Ivanpah Valley Airport will need to be more than an airport.
Ivanpah Valley Airport
- proposed to be built on 6,000 arid acres in Southern Nevada - needs to be at the geocentric position of a yet to be designed
broad transportation system that is equal to the needs of the 21st Century.
5:22 am pst
Friday, December 5, 2008
Purchase Of Primm Nevada's Bighorn Power Plant By Nevada Utility NV Energy Now Complete
By Robert L. Candiotti
The 598-megawatt Bighorn Power Plant, located at Primm, Nevada - near the location of the proposed Ivanpah Valley
Airport - has been purchased by NV Energy from Reliant Energy Inc.
The purchase price is $510 million. The plant
has reportedly been renamed the Walter Higgins Generating Station.
Michael Yackira, NV Energy president/CEO,
has said, "The addition to our company's generation capability is another major step in our goal of achieving energy
independence for Nevada, thereby lessening our state's reliance on outside, volatile energy markets."
8:28 am pst
Monday, December 1, 2008
Ivanpah Airport's Designers Can Learn From Design And Success Of Singapore Changi Airport
By Robert L. Candiotti
The Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger jet, has been flying commercially since 2007.
It is
still flying to just a handful of cities. One of those cities is Singapore.
In January of this year, Singapore's
Changi Airport opened a new terminal - the airport's third terminal - with eight aerobridge gates that have been designed
to accommodate the A380.
This is an airport terminal designed for the future.
Included in the modern
design of the new terminal - which cost $1.22 billion - are a butterfly garden, 919 energy saving skylights, 200 species of
plants (many hanging from a five-story wall) and trees, and koi fish ponds.
Since its inception in 1981, Singapore's
Changi Airport has been modern, convenient and beautiful. The new terminal is consistent in being efficient, attractive and
"green."
Singapore knows some environmentalists are not patently in favor of the expansion of aviation,
so the Singapore authorities have designed the new terminal to assuage environmental concerns.
The designers of
Ivanpah Valley Airport can learn many lessons from the success of Changi Airport. The geographical environments (the desert
versus the tropics) of the two airports are quite different, but their needs to be green, graceful and great are very
similar.
1:38 am pst
