Test Site uses to be discussed at meeting

Monday, Oct. 28, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Launches of communication satellites, hydrogen fuel tests, emergency response training and solar production are among the options to replace nuclear weapons experiments at the Nevada Test Site.

The NTS Development Corp. board will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Alexis Park Hotel to discuss such programs and hear from corporate, congressional and committee representatives working to update the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

From 1951 to 1992, the Test Site hosted hundreds of above- and below-ground nuclear experiments. A moratorium on nuclear testing was signed by President George Bush and has stayed in effect since, prompting efforts to find a new mission for the Test Site.

The U.S. Department of Energy granted NTS Development Corp. $5 million last year to initiate private-public partnerships at the Rhode Island-sized site.

Tim Carlson, executive director of NTS Development Corp., will present updates on such projects as:

* SATELLITES: Kistler Aerospace could launch reusable, non-nuclear, unmanned space vehicles from a $600 million base that would deliver communications satellites into space and return for another launch within days.

* HYDROGEN: NRG Technologies of Nevada has presented plans to combine hydrogen and natural gas to power cars and trucks that now contribute to air pollution. The fuel could eliminate carbon monoxide and visible smog.

* SOLAR: The Corporation for Solar Technology and Renewable Research recently signed an agreement to produce 10 megawatts of power. The Test Site is a prime contender for developing solar energy for commercial uses.

* CLEANUP: Fluid Tech, a company dedicated to cleaning up contamination from nuclear materials, could open up shop at the Test Site, instead of Amargosa Valley, where citizens were upset with living so close to radioactive activities.

Gov. Bob Miller has been invited to speak at Tuesday's meeting, along with Sens. Richard Bryan and Harry Reid, both D-Nev.