ArabianBusiness.com - Middle East Business News
Sunday, 22 November 2009 06:18 UAE time

YOUR DIRECTORY /

| Share |

Work starts on Masdar city

by ArabianBusiness.com staff writer  on Saturday, 01 March 2008
Sultan Al Jaber said Masdar City will become the world’s hub for future energy.

The zero carbon city will be home to some 50,000 residents following its completion in 2016.

Groundbreaking has kicked off on the zero-carbon, zero-waste Masdar City, in Abu Dhabi, UAE. A virtual cornerstone was laid to mark the occasion.

The 6.5 km mixed-use development is set to be completed in 2016.

Story continues below
advertisement

At the ceremony held last month, Masdar CEO Sultan Al Jaber revealed a development budget of US $22 billion for the project.

"We are creating a city where residents and commuters will live the highest quality of life with the lowest environmental footprint," Al Jaber commented. "Masdar City will become the world's hub for future energy. By taking sustainable development to a new level, it will lead the world in understanding how all future cities should be built.

The majority of the city's electricity will be generated by photovoltaic panels, while cooling will be supplied via concentrated solar power. A solar-powered desalination plant will provide water for the 1,500 businesses and 50,000 residents expected to be accommodated at the site. Grey water and treated wastewater will be used for irrigation. The carbon emissions savings from the project are set to be monetised under the Kyoto Protocol's clean development mechanism.

At the end of January, Masdar announced it had teamed up with Hydrogen Energy, a 50:50 joint venture between BP Alternative Energy and Rio Tinto, to develop hydrogen-fuelled power. The parties intend to build a US $2 billion hydrogen-fired power plant with carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, in Abu Dhabi.

The facility would process around 100 million ft3 of natural gas each day, creating hydrogen and CO2. The hydrogen fuel would be used to generate 420 MW of low-carbon electricity, while the CO2 would be captured and injected into an active oil field, where it could replace natural gas, which is currently used to maintain pressure in the field following oil extraction. This would free up the natural gas for other more profitable uses, the firms said.

The front-end engineering and design of the plant is due to be completed by the end of 2008, at a cost of some US $45 million. The decision to proceed with construction is expected to be taken by early 2009, with startup to follow in 2012.

| Share |


READERS' COMMENTS

Disclaimer: The views expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by ArabianBusiness.com or its employees.

Click here to post a comment


Add your Comment
All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *
(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments


Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.


MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM

From  Current Issue

SHARE PRICE CHECK

RELATED STORIES

Masdar
| 82 stories
  1. Japanese bank in talks to fund Masdar energy projects
  2. Making sense of Masdar
  3. UAE in Profile

RELATED LINKS

  1. Masdar»

 EMAIL ALERTS

  1. Masdar

  2. Energy


Tell us your story

READER COMMENTS

  1. UAE announces Eid and National Day holidays 02
    21 Nov ' 09 at 10:22
    Is it any wonder that Emiratis are reluctant to work in the private sector? One day extra and no request for early payment of salaries.   More  »
  2. RTA to lease out last batch of retail outlets available on Red Line 01
    21 Nov ' 09 at 14:10
    What happened of Last Minute and their 28 outlets - one on each station?   More  »
  3. Dubai plans start-up help for expat entrepreneurs 01
    21 Nov ' 09 at 11:37
    this is great news really makes sense, especially since Small & Medium Enterprises actually make UAE. I sincerely hope that this is...   More  »

Read all user comments >

Gitex 2009

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM