UAE: Can gas-guzzing sheiks go green?

Abu Dhabi builds the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city powered by renewable energy.

Tom HundleyNovember 22, 2009 09:35Updated May 30, 2010 12:14

A model of an upcoming project is seen at the Masdar exhibit during the Cityscape exhibition in Abu Dhabi, May 13, 2008. Abu Dhabi's Masdar City, which will accommodate private residences and businesses, will be the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city fully powered by renewable energy. (Jumana El Heloueh/Reuters)

ABU DHABI, U.A.E. — Inhabitants of this oil-rich desert nation have developed a ravenous appetite for luxury and novelty.

They live in oversized villas on man-made islands shaped like palm fronds. They love gas-guzzling SUVs. They play golf on lush courses that can require up to 4 million gallons of water a day to stay green. And when summer temperatures soar over 100 degrees, they bundle up in their winter parkas and ski the snowy slopes of an indoor mountain.

As a result, the U.A.E. owns the distinction of producing the biggest carbon footprint, per-capita, of any country in the world, according to a recent survey by the World Wildlife Fund.

But there are signs of reform, or at least a vague recognition that someday either the oil will run out or the world will find an alternative source of energy.

Abu Dhabi’s response to this reality has been to put up $15 billion in seed money to develop the world’s first carbon neutral, zero-waste city.

First conceived in 2006, the ambitious plan for Masdar City is rapidly taking shape amid a forest of construction cranes on a sun-scorched desert plain about a 20 minute drive from the center of Abu Dhabi.

Masdar City will generate most of its energy from the sun, the wind, recycled waste and whatever else creative technology can come up with. Cars will be banned from its streets, which will be narrow and cooled by the shadows in the traditional manner of a desert habitat. To get around the two square miles of the city, people will rely on an underground system of personal rapid transit pods.

When the project is completed, 40,000 to 50,000 people are expected to live here. They will work for the high-tech energy companies that will be lured to the U.A.E. by the promise of zero taxes and an opportunity to develop their products in a living laboratory. A number of big names have expressed interest.

At the moment, the centerpiece of the project is the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, the Middle East’s first graduate research program dedicated to the development of alternative energy, environmental technologies and sustainability.

Marwan Khraisheh, dean of engineering, described the school as a “focused, research-driven institute” that aims to attract the best and brightest from around the world.

A partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has helped the Masdar Institute recruit an impressive faculty, and this fall the school drew from a pool of more than 1,200 applicants to select its inaugural class of 88 students. All of the students are on full scholarship.

The futuristic campus, designed by London’s Foster + Partners, is on schedule to open this fall. In the meantime, classes are being held at Abu Dhabi’s Petroleum Institute.