Can Anyone Dream of a zero-carbon, zero-waste, automobile-free city ? Now that dream no more to be a dream. Masdar is rising from a 2.3-square mile plot of desert in Abu Dhabi, and is in half-way to be as the World’s Cleanest City.
Masdar CEO Sultan Al Jaber says, "There is nothing like it in the world," without exaggeration. "Masdar has a simple promise – to be the world’s center for future energy solutions.
Once it is being completed, Abu Dhabi will profit from the clean energy economy of tomorrow, just as it profits from $100-a-barrel oil today.
To get it, Abu Dhabi will tap into the vision of London architects Foster and Partners and the skills of a big U.S. engineering firm called CH2M Hill.
According to Glen Daigger, CH2M Hill’s chief technology officer, the city is inspired by ancient Arab cities and traditional European cities that are pedestrian-friendly. "The ancient cities weren’t built around cars because there were no cars," he notes.
Masdar residents will have access to Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) vehicles–four-person, electric-powered, self-propelled vehicles. Travelers will go to a station, dial in their destination and be whisked away. "There isn’t a system like it in the world today." Daigger says. Plans call for 83 stations, 2,500 vehicles and 150,000 trips per day.
CH2M Hill expect the cars, the buildings and everything else to be powered by solar photovoltaic panels on the rooftop of every building, solar thermal power plants (which use the sun to heat liquids that spin turbines and generate electricity) and waste-to-energy plants.
"Essentially, every city building will be its own power generator," Otta says. The electricity will power buildings, street lights, the PRT system and wastewater treatment. "The city will be the network."
Masdar is being designed as a research and technology center. The first phase, a university called the Masdar Institute that has begun to hire faculty and recruit students, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009. Plans call for the entire city to be open by 2016. You can find out a lot more on the Masdar Web site.