Energy boost

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Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair made the closing speech at the summit.

The World Future Energy Summit (WFES) was held recently in Abu Dhabi. Peter Ward reports on the outcome of this huge Middle East event.

The Middle East may have had a poor reputation in sustainability and energy efficiency in the past, but it seems a corner has been turned, and green building has made its way to the top of the agenda.

The WFES was held for the second time in Abu Dhabi recently, and generated a great deal of publicity, interest and enthusiasm. With all such events, the key question is: when the dust is cleared and the cross-town traffic dispersed, will all the talking be turned into action?

High-profile speakers such as Tony Blair raised interest in the event, but it was the specialist presentations that really attracted the crowds.

A wealth of knowledge was made readily available in the seminar programme, while the exhibitors laid out their skills and capabilities for the whole world to benefit from.

The conference focused mainly on the Masdar City development and other projects from the Abu Dhabi government funded initiative. Several announcements were made regarding the project, which is aiming to become the first zero-carbon city in the world.

While the main topics of the summit revolved around renewable energy, many MEP-related topics were present - and the most prominent of these was renewable technologies.

Technology traits

Given the climate in the Middle East, it is not surprising that solar technologies featured heavily. PV panels on buildings have become increasingly popular, as shown in a presentation by Solyndra vice-president of marketing, sales and business development Dr Kelly Truman.

Truman revealed the potential of PV being used on commercial rooftops: "In the US there is 3 billion m² of flat commercial rooftop area for PV in the US alone." At the summit, Solyndra was offering a packaged system to be deployed on rooftops that is self -ballasted and non-penetrating.

Hilson Moran director of sustainability Matt Kitson called for a wider use of smart meters in green buildings: "Smart meters provide feedback on energy consumption for building occupants. People can change their behaviour, but we need to give them something to change their behaviour with. I do think this is a big opportunity for the Middle East."

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