Abu Dhabi's Masdar to Invest $15 Billion on Green Energy by 2015

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Masdar (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), a state-controlled company, plans to invest about $15 billion on renewable energy through 2015. About $3 billion has already been invested, and $10 billion will be made available by 2015-16 for alternate and renewable energy programs. The initiative will include wind, solar and hydrogen-based power projects in Abu Dhabi, which will assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Masdar, which specializes in green energy ventures, has been working to promote alternative fuel sources and reduce the dependence of fossil fuels.

Masdar recently connected a 10-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power plant, considered to be one of the largest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), to the municipal grid. Construction of the $50 million plant began in January and was carried out by Environmena Power Systems (Abu Dhabi). The power generated from this source, which consists of 87,777 panels, will be utilized for preliminary construction work at the Masdar Carbon-Neutral City Complex.

The complex is an ambitious residential and commercial township project, located about 17 kilometers off Abu Dhabi, on a land area of 6 square kilometers. This global city, when fully developed in 2018-19, is expected provide housing to about 45,000 people and office facilities to more than 1,500 companies. The project was initiated in 2006. Estimated to cost about $22 billion, it will be built to sustain entirely on renewable energy sources such as concentrating solar power (CSP), geothermal, photovoltaic and waste-to-energy technologies. The CSP technology uses mirrors and lenses to create a concentrated beam of sunlight, which is then used as feed for a traditional power plant. The CSP technology will help run steam turbines at Masdar City. Masdar has carried out tests on-site to gauge the effectiveness of these technologies.

Masdar City, designed and constructed by Foster and Partners (London), is touted to become the world's first zero-waste, carbon-neutral township. Automobiles powered by fossil fuels will be banned within the perimeters of the city. Special personal rapid transit system facilities will be made available to commuters. A water management and desalination system run on solar power will also be installed. Industrial and biological waste will be converted into fertilizers and used as feed for power generation.

In a recent press announcement, Masdar indicated that it would continue to invest in renewable energy projects in Europe in addition to developing this sector domestically. The company is working on the financial closure of its 100-MW Shams-I CSP Project in Madinat Zayed, being developed on a 25-year build-operate-own model. Fichtner Consulting Engineers (Stuttgart, Germany) will be the technical consultant for this project. Contracts for the project will be awarded shortly. The CSP plant is scheduled to begin operation in 2011.

Masdar is also jointly developing the 1,000-MW London Array windfarm with Dong Energy (Fredericia, Denmark) and E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Duesseldorf, Germany). The partners are investing about $3 billion on the 630-MW first phase of this initiative. The project is planned for commissioning in time for the 2012 Olympics to be held in London.

Masdar PV GmbH (Erfurt, Germany), a wholly owned subsidiary of Masdar, is also investing about $230 million to set up a photovoltaic manufacturing facility in Erfurt. This marks the first phase of investment from the $2 billion fund earmarked by Masdar for the photovoltaic manufacturing sector.

Torresol Energy, a 60:40 joint venture between SENER Grupo de Ingenieria (Bilbao, Spain) and Masdar, will develop three solar power plants in Spain with a combined investment of $1.12 billion. In 2008, Masdar invested about $174 million to purchase a stake in wind turbine manufacturer WindWinD Oy (Helsinki, Finland). WindWinD specializes in technology and the design of 1-3 MW wind turbines.

Globally, solar power and related technologies are gaining popularity as an effective alternative source for electricity generation. Europe leads in the development and use of this technology. Germany is the world leader in solar power, while Spain ranks second. This is attributed to federal policies conducive for the promotion of green energy and the concept of feed-in tariffs. Germany's energy policy encourages solar power producers, mainly domestic households, to sell surplus power to energy utilities at a premium.

Tax incentives and low-cost financing options are made available to solar power users in many countries including the U.S. The economic stimulus package announced by the U.S. includes an amount of $22 billion earmarked for usage of solar panels in public buildings and schools.

Australia recently stated that it would begin construction of the $1.05 billion solar power plant, which is expected to produce three times more power than the present largest solar power plant in California. With most developed and developing countries focusing on solar power, the United Arab Emirates, which receives about 350 days of sunshine in a year, will have to gear up, look beyond Masdar City, initiate new projects, and take full advantage of this renewable source.

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