GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue 005

• A 200MW PV plant in Jordan
• Additional PV projects in
Mauritania with a total
capacity of 12MW
Q: What are the future
innovations that your
company is currently
pursuing?
The pilot research projects
located at Masdar City, many
of them led by or closely
involving MI scientists and
students, are accelerating
the acquisition of scientific
knowledge in the clean tech
industry and paving the way
towards the development
of real-world commercial
applications. As the
surrounding community at
Masdar City grows, the R&D
cluster will also expand.
The exciting and innovative
new projects currently being
developed at Masdar City
include:
• Eco-Villa Prototype: a project
incorporating innovative
water- and energy-saving
technologies and design
features that significantly
reduce its environmental
impact compared to standard
villas. The ‘Net Zero Energy’
prototype equipped with 80
rooftop PV panels can supply
up to 40,000 kWh per year
to the national grid, easily
offsetting its own electricity
requirements.
• Seawater Energy &
Agriculture System (SEAS):
a project supporting the
nascent aviation biofuel
industry in the Middle East
and promoting increased
food security through the
cultivation of oil-rich, salttolerant
plants from the
waste water of an industrial
fish farm. SEAS is an initiative
of the Sustainable Bioenergy
Research Consortium
established by the Masdar
Institute, Etihad Airways,
Boeing and Honeywell UOP.
• Electric Energy Storage
Solutions Hub: exploring the
potential of electrochemical
technologies to enhance the
capacity of renewable energy
systems to store power,
enabling their wider adoption
in the energy mix.
• Geothermal Energy: a
project evaluating a possible
power source for district
cooling. With geothermal
wells already sunk to a depth
of 2,500 metres within the
grounds of Masdar City, the
research initiative is the first
of its type in the Middle East
and may be converted into
a full-fledged demonstration
project.
• The Masdar Solar Hub:
Photovoltaic (PV) Test Centre:
operated in partnership with
the Masdar Institute and TÜV
Rheinland, the facility provides
independent measurement of
the performance, reliability
and durability of PV modules,
their panel coatings and other
related technical equipment.
• The Masdar Solar Hub:
CPV Testing Facility: a
joint initiative between
Masdar and Instituto de
Sistemas Fotovoltaicos de
Concentración (ISFOC)
of Spain, researching the
performance of Concentrated
Photovoltaic (CPV) systems
in the Gulf’s desert climate
conditions.
Q: What impact have you
delivered (social, economic
and environmental)? Do you
have metrics or statistics of
your accomplishments?
Masdar has 10 years of
experience as a renewable
energy developer and
investor, building state-ofthe-art
projects, from large,
utility-scale power plants to
community grid projects to
individual solar house systems
in locations around the world.
In total, Masdar has invested
more than US$2.7 billion in
clean energy generation.
Our already-operational solar
and wind projects have a total
peak capacity of nearly 1,000
megawatts (MW) and are
displacing nearly 2.5 million
metric tons (2,389,725 m/t)
of carbon dioxide per year.
Another 700MW of capacity is
currently under development.
Among the most notable of
our clean energy projects is the
630MW London Array, which
is the largest offshore wind
project in the world currently
in operation. The landmark
Gemasolar concentrated solar
power (CSP) plant in Spain
was the first utility-scale solar
plant to deliver electricity to
the grid 24 hours a day.
Masdar City’s 10MW
photovoltaic array produces
about 17,500 megawatthours
of clean electricity
annually and offsets 15,000
tonnes of carbon emissions
per year. The plant consists of
87,780 multi-crystalline and
thin-film modules supplied by
Suntech and First Solar.
Masdar also manages the
Zayed Future Energy Prize.
From ensuring access to
modern energy in rural African
villages, to empowering
Bangladeshi women with
careers as solar technicians,
more than 202 million people
around the world have
experienced the sustainable
actions of the Zayed Future
Energy Prize winners. Through
progressive achievements
recognized by the awards,
water security is now a
reality for millions of families
across Bangladesh, India,
Ghana and the Philippines.
Renewable energy sources
supply electricity to 60 million
people, and enough carbon
emissions have been avoided
to offset the price of global
deforestation for a year.
The Zayed Future Energy
Prize’s Global High Schools
category was launched in 2012
10
JULY 2016
Future Cities & Robotics