The world’s only city to be totally powered by renewable energy finally has some residents, with around 100 students of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology having just moved into Masdar City.
But they won’t just be sleeping in, watching daytime television and littering the pavements with empty cans and pizza boxes as Dr Fred Moavenzadeh, president of Masdar Institute of Science and Technology says the students will be spending at least half of their time devoting themselves to environmental research.
The Dhs81 billion scheme is a project to develop sustainable and clean energy and will eventually be ‘a test-bed for technology’, says Moavenzadeh. When finished, the project will cover six sq km and house 40,000 residents and 1,500 businesses, but no cars will be allowed inside the city perimeters. Given that Abu Dhabi holds around nine percent of the world’s proven oil reserves and almost five percent of the world’s natural gas, this is a particularly significant move. All the students, of which 20-25 per cent are Emirati, are currently on scholarships. The Masdar Institute aims to be a world leader in environmental studies by offering various master’s degrees and doctorates in sustainable technology-related subjects.
