Abu Dhabi’s plan to have seven percent of its energy needs provided from renewable energy sources by 2020 is on track, the CEO of Masdar City has said.
“So far most of these renewable energy installations and applications are already on the ground at Masdar City,” Masdar CEO Sultan Al Jaber told reporters on Monday.
“We have a number of other initiatives, such as the Shams 1 project, which is well under way. Most of the seven percent will come from solar power.”
The emirate’s plan is to provide around 1000 megawatts of power from renewable sources, Al Jaber added.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited the site of what is hoped to be the world’s first carbon-neutral city on Monday, said that the superpower was “betting” on the investment made in Masdar.
Clinton also lauded the venture for its ability to create new jobs.
“I know that there are many talented people here in the UAE, and giving scientists and engineers and technicians the opportunity to participate in the clean energy revolution will bring good jobs to the UAE, more income and a greater ability to create and spin off businesses,” she said.
One of the Masdar components, the Masdar Institute for Science and Technology (MIST) shares close ties with the US Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The US Department of Energy has also signed several deals with Masdar.
On Sunday, Masdar announced that it had awarded a $204m construction contract to Arabian Construction Company (ACC).
Al Jaber said that this deal, which will extend the MIST campus, represented the first contract awarded for the second phase of construction at Masdar.
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