Introduction
Mubadala Development Company is a business development and investment company and its objective is to facilitate the diversification of Abu Dhabi’s economy and its focus is on managing long-term, capital-intensive investments that deliver strong financial returns and tangible social benefits for the Emirate (Harder and Gibson, 2011).
This company was established in October 2002 as a Public Joint Stock Company and is a wholly owned investment vehicle of the Government of Abu Dhabi, in the UAE. Its board of directors include HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan –as the chairman, Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi as the Vice-Chairman, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak as the CEO and Managing Director and Hamad Al Hurr Al Suwaidi , who is a member, among others.
Aiming to be the most viable city in the world, Masdar City a Mubadala – an Abu Dhabi government owned company, based in Abu Dhabi, is a developing global clean-technology group that places its local companies in the heart of the global renewable energy and clean-tech industry (Harder and Gibson, 2011).
Masdar City is a high-density, pedestrian friendly development where current and future renewable energy and clean technologies are showcased, advertised, researched, developed, tested and implemented (Zaneldin, 2006).
It is situated 17 kilometers east of the city of Abu Dhabi, and it is being designed and operated to provide the highest quality of life with the lowest environmental footprint in all manners that is commercially sustainable (Harder and Gibson, 2011).
It is being built to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Masdar operates through five integrated units, including an independent, research-driven university and seeks to become a leader in making renewable energy a real, sustainable business in Abu Dhabi (Zaneldin, 2006).
Masdar’s initiative
Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City project was implemented to help Abu Dhabi become a leader in renewable energy technology in the face of decreasing oil and a rise of global weather due to Greenhouse gases (Zaneldin, 2006). The building will also eradicate carbon emissions and reduce liquid and solid waste and its complex will utilize sustainable materials and feature combined wind turbines, outdoor air quality monitors and one of the world’s largest integrated solar energy arrays (Harder and Gibson, 2011).
In addition to being the first mixed-use net positive energy building in the world, it will feature one of the world’s largest building-integrated photovoltaic arrays, employ the largest solar thermal driven cooling and dehumidification system (Harder and Gibson, 2011). The city will be the first building in history to generate power for its own assembly, through development of its solar roof pier (Zaneldin, 2006).
Masdar city’s electricity will be produced by photovoltaic panels, whereas cooling will be provided through concentrated solar power (Zaneldin, 2006). The new city will provide 70,000 news jobs. Furthermore, with the availability of solar power, the demand for power will decrease and power needed to power the city will be reduced significantly compared with a modern city plant and water consumption will be decreased to half the amount needed.
Conclusion
Masdar city is a developing global clean-technology group that places its local companies in the heart of the global renewable energy and clean-tech industry. The building will feature one of the world’s largest building-integrated photovoltaic arrays, it will also employ the largest solar thermal driven cooling and dehumidification system, and finally it will be the first building in history to generate power for its own assembly, through development of its solar roof pier before the underlying complex (Zaneldin, 2006).
Mubadala’s objective is to assist the diversification of Abu Dhabi’s economy and its focus is on managing long-term, capital-intensive investments that deliver strong financial returns and tangible social benefits for the Emirate (Harder and Gibson, 2011).
References
Harder, E. and Gibson, J. M. (2011). The cost and benefits of large-scale solar photovoltaic power production in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Renewable energy, 2(36), 789-796.
Zaneldin, E. K., (2006) Construction claims in United Arab Emirates: Types, causes and frequency. International journal of project management, 5(24), 453-459.