Philadelphia Navy yard may become energy co-op
Share with others:
PHILADELPHIA -- In part of a former Navy yard in South Philadelphia, economic development officials hope to foster an "energy campus" in which businesses, academics and military engineers can pool their efforts to come up with commercial ventures such as alternative energy sources or smart-grid technology.
The yard still holds the Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station, where military personnel are working on ways to produce more power with less fuel and testing power systems for a planned fleet of all-electric destroyers.
But the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., which is converting the former military base to private use, sees the Navy station and its electrical infrastructure as a magnet for energy-related business that could one day transform Philadelphia as computers did Silicon Valley.
"We think we're involved with something here that could affect the overall economy in a big, big way in the long term," said Joseph J. Houldin, chief executive of the nonprofit Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center.
The energy campus idea has been on the drawing board for several years.
Some long-term Navy vendors and suppliers have opened offices in the yard and a few startup energy ventures have come. But the campus idea has gained steam with the Obama administration's emphasis on alternative energy programs.
Contractors working on ways to help power systems recover from an attack are also thinking about ways to use the techniques to protect cities from terrorists, said Charles H. Zimmerman, a manager at the Navy station.
First Published July 27, 2009 12:24 am
