Masdar City – a Pipe Dream or Our Future?
World’s Largest Single Government Commitment to “Future Energy” Will Leverage Additional Partner Commitments for a ‘Grand Portfolio’ Many Times Larger
In an address before delegates of the World Future Energy Summit here today, His Highness, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the U.A.E. Armed Forces, announced the most ambitious sustainability program ever launched by a government – an initial investment of US$15 billion in projects targeting solar, wind and hydrogen power; carbon reduction and management; sustainable development; education; manufacturing; and research and development.
The investment will be channelled through the Masdar Initiative, a company that aims to explore, develop and commercialize future energy sources. Masdar will leverage the Abu Dhabi government’s initial US$15 billion investment with joint ventures and other investment partners for a grand portfolio many times larger, comprised of projects in Abu Dhabi, the MENA region and globally.
The emirate of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, has been a leader in the field of hydrocarbons for nearly half a century. One of Masdar’s primary objectives is to build upon Abu Dhabi’s energy leadership and develop an entirely new domestic economic sector built on energy innovation and intellectual property, thereby establishing the emirate as the regional and global center of future energy solutions.
The Government of Abu Dhabi has indicated its own commitment to the adoption of renewable energy, and will soon publish a comprehensive energy policy that includes a pledge that by 2020, renewable energy sources will account for at least 7 percent of the Emirate’s total power generation capacity. Masdar estimates this commitment will create a renewable energy market valued at US$6-8 billion in the Emirate, creating business opportunities for local and international companies.
In the past 12 months, Masdar has made significant advancements across the full spectrum of renewable energy solutions to help build a renewable energy sector in Abu Dhabi and to accelerate the deployment of clean technologies globally.
- Breaking ground on the development of Masdar City – the world’s first carbon-neutral city
- Building a solar manufacturing plant in Germany, creating green-jobs and technical know-how to transfer to Abu Dhabi
- Enrolling a pre-class of students at the Masdar Institute – the world’s first graduate institution dedicated to future energy solutions
- Investing in leading renewable technologies, forming joint ventures, and R&D partnerships to apply scale and capital to accelerate technology deployment and commercialization
In addition, international evidence of the widespread adoption of renewable energy includes recent commitments by the Governments of Australia and the United States to make significant investments in renewable energy technologies, a commitment by the European Parliament to reduce carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2020, and international efforts led by the Governments of Germany, Denmark and Spain to establish an International Renewable Energy Agency, dedicated to the widespread adoption of renewable energy on a global scale.
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There was a time when developed nations of the West led the way forward with technology and a grand vision of the future. But now, every vision, every project, every technology is measured purely on the dollar return TODAY, not in the long term.
I am glad to read that nations like the UAE have taken up the gauntlet on behalf of Humanity and in so doing has given us Hope of a better future. I applaud your courage to have such a grand vision and I wish you success!
I agree with Derrick, I work in the energy saving business and we have a lot of interest from the Middle East and the Arab states particularly – it is great to see them leading the way.