One of the world鈥檚 largest oil producers has begun construction on the first zero-carbon city, powered entirely by renewable energy.
Officials from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, touted plans for a $22 billion development known as the at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Cambridge, US, on 5 May.
鈥淭his is going to create huge business and research opportunities to get beyond where we are today,鈥� says Khaled Awad, of the government-owned Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company.
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UAE is the third-largest oil exporting country in the world and sits on 10% of the planet鈥檚 known oil reserves. Awad, however, sees the city, which will house an alternative energy research institute, as an investment in alternative energies that will eventually replace oil.
Narrow streets
鈥淔or Abu Dhabi to maintain its market share in energy, it must develop other forms of energy,鈥� he says.
Groundbreaking construction for the densely packed 7-square-kilometre city on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi began in February. The city will house 50,000 residents and will also include commercial buildings and light industry. The Abu Dhabi government has committed $4 billion for the project and plans to raise another $18 billion.
Solar power, in the form of photovoltaic panels, concentrated solar collectors, and solar thermal tubes will provide 82% of the city鈥檚 energy needs.
An additional 17% of the city鈥檚 power will come from burning composted food waste in a highly efficient method that developers say will emit greenhouse gases at a rate 10 times lower than if the food were allowed to decompose in a landfill. The remaining 1% of the city鈥檚 energy will come from wind turbines.
Smart urban planning that employs traditional designs, such as wind cooling towers and narrow streets aligned along a southwest by northeast axis to maximise shaded areas, will further reduce energy needs. Buildings in the Masdar Initiative are projected to need less than half the energy for cooling and lighting that would be required for conventional buildings in the region.
Transport 鈥榩ods鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a new scale of sustainable development where we can take what we have learned with buildings and apply it to the city,鈥� says of Foster and Partners, the company that designed the city鈥檚 layout.
Cars will be banned within Masdar. Instead, a light rail system running through the city centre will connect it to the rest of Adu Dhabi. 鈥淧ersonal rapid transport pods鈥� 鈥� small vehicles powered by the city鈥檚 photovoltaic panels 鈥� will also operate within the city.
Many of the green building concepts going into Masdar, such as solar-powered desalinisation plants, have been attempted elsewhere, but the new development marks the first time they will be employed together on such a large scale.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the buildings, it鈥檚 how power generation, water management, transportation, and urban planning all come together,鈥� says of MIT, who assisted in the planning of the city鈥檚 research institute.
