ABU DHABI MEGA PROJECTS: MASDAR ZERO-CARBON RENEWABLE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 000945

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP BMASILKO, NEA/PI, NEA/PPD
ALSO FOR OES, EEB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EINV ETRD EIND SENV PGOV AE US
SUBJECT: ABU DHABI MEGA PROJECTS: MASDAR ZERO-CARBON RENEWABLE
ENERGY CITY

REF: REF: A) Abu Dhabi 920, B) Abu Dhabi 943
C) Dubai 271, D) Dubai 272,

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1. (SBU) Summary. The Abu Dhabi Government, guided by Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ),is pursuing the renewable energy and
sustainable development initiative "Masdar" to maintain Abu Dhabi's
role as a global energy player in the long term. The Masdar
initiative includes the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology
(MIST),an Innovation and Investment branch, and the "clean tech
cluster" in the Special Free Zone of the anticipated US $22 billion
"zero-carbon" Masdar City. End summary.

ENERGY SHORTAGE IN THE GULF?
--------------


2. (SBU) Despite the UAE having the world's fifth largest gas and
oil reserves, electricity shortages are a serious and growing
problem, reminding the UAE that it cannot build a future on oil
alone. According to press reports, every GCC country other than
Qatar is facing shortages of natural gas (in fact, most of the UAE's
electricity is generated from Qatar's gas reserves). While Abu
Dhabi's electricity supply currently exceeds demand, official
forecasts project that the equation will reverse by 2011. Due to
limited feedstock and distribution infrastructure, the smaller
emirates, such as Ras Al Khaimah, already face acute water and
energy shortages(refs A and B). Gas shortages recently forced one
company to cancel a USD $5 billion aluminum smelter in Abu Dhabi.
Masdar officials confided to POLOFF and ECONOFF that even now Abu
Dhabi sells 600-800 MW of electricity to Dubai to meet demand there.
Abu Dhabi is looking for energy stability over the long term,
pursuing peaceful nuclear power (ref C) and to a lesser extent
alternative energy research.

MASDAR: (PART OF) THE SOLUTION
--------------


3. (SBU) Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's creative development arm, is
executing the Masdar project -- a long term strategic development
program aiming to: (1) maintain and expand the emirate's role in
global energy, (2) turn Abu Dhabi from a technology consumer to a
technology producer, (3) develop local human capital in scientists
and businessmen, and (4) diversify the local economy. In a meeting
with POLOFF and ECONOFF, Masdar officials explained that the name
Masdar, meaning "source," was personally chosen by MbZ and that the
ambitious initiative benefits from his personal interest.

"A DISNEYLAND FOR ENGINEERS"
--------------


4. (SBU) Masdar's hub will be Masdar City (MC),a USD $22 billion, 6
square kilometer, walled area exemplifying the sustainable city of
the future. Construction has already started near the Abu Dhabi
International Airport, with the last phase not expected to finish
before 2015. In a meeting with POLOFF and ECONOFF, MC officials
described the city's planned energy sources: 50% photovoltaics
(solar panels),26% concentrating solar thermal power (many mirrors
focusing light on a single point to generate heat),7% waste
composting & biodigestion, 1% wind, and the remainder potentially
ground-sourced heat pumps (geothermal cooling to reduce air
conditioner use) and other sources. No cars will be permitted in MC;
rather, electric pods will follow magnetic strips to take passengers
around the compound (and parking lots are envisioned on the
outskirts). A light rail system will connect MC to downtown Abu
Dhabi and the international airport. Outside the city's walls Masdar
will build solar fields, a solar-powered desalination plant, a
wastewater treatment plant, and recreational areas. (Comment: While
Masdar's website also notes plans for biofuel plantations, a wind
farm, and a recycling center, the overall plan is very much a work
in progress. End comment.) The much-publicized aim is for MC to
produce no net carbon emissions, no waste, and to reduce desalinated
water consumption by 80%. More broadly, MC aims to be an
eco-friendly example for the world.


5. (SBU) In addition to eliminating waste and carbon emissions, MC's
second role is to serve as a "clean tech cluster." MC will house
50,000-100,000 residents, the MIST Institute (see paragraph six),
commercial areas, and the Special Free Zone (SFZ). MC is hoping to
attract up to 1500 companies to the SFZ with a variety of
incentives: no taxes, full foreign ownership permitted, and
intellectual property protection. Officials describe it as Abu
Dhabi's first free zone, similar to Jebel Ali in Dubai. Within the
SFZ, the Emirate promises transparent laws and "accelerated
regulatory approval," as environmental technologies are difficult to
register in many countries. Abu Dhabi authorities also advertise the
mix of research and industry inside Masdar City, a cheap
manufacturing base, and quick access to the high demand MENA region
as well as South Asia and Africa. Employees of MC "clean tech"

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companies will be given first choice of MC residences. Other
potential residents will need to apply and will be screened. MC will
also contain several hotels, primarily geared toward business
travelers.

STRONG EDUCATIONAL ELEMENT ENVISIONED
--------------


6. (U) The primary foci of Masdar are sustainable energy, carbon
management, and water conservation. In order to gain technical
expertise, Masdar has established a research network of leading
universities and research institutes in North America, Europe, and
Asia. In addition, Masdar is partnering with the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology to open the graduate-level Masdar Institute
of Science and Technology (MIST) in fall 2009. The plan, reportedly,
is for MIST to have the same admissions standards as MIT. All
admitted students (including Emirati nationals and non-citizens)
will be provided free tuition, housing, and a stipend. MIST faculty
will spend their first year in Massachusetts auditing the classes
they will teach at MIST and working in a related research group, in
order to encourage collaboration between the two universities. The
five MIST degree programs will not be separated into departments, in
order to promote interdisciplinary collaboration.


7. (SBU) Officials explained that the uniqueness of MIST lies in its
focus: MIST will be the first university in the world to offer
degrees in multiple traditional disciplines (e.g., mechanical and
electrical engineering) exclusively focused on sustainability. In
line with Abu Dhabi's goal of developing local human capital,
between 20-30% of MIST students will be Emirati. (Comment: It is
questionable whether rigorous "MIT standards" would normally be met
by so many students from one small country's limited population
base; standards may need to be adjusted to achieve the goal of
Emirati participation. End comment).

BEING PART OF THE MASDAR BRAND
--------------


8. (SBU) MC officials say the project is progressing well. MC is
reportedly "inundated" with companies wanting to be part of the
Masdar "brand," as ninety-two percent of the Abu Dhabi references in
the world media right now reportedly mention Masdar. MC officials
explain that in the long term Abu Dhabi will gain "knowledge
capital" to be replicated and deployed around the world. The
potential for intellectual property rights alone would, by some
accounts, be a long term profitable investment.


9. (U) According to the UAE press, the "master planners" of MC
already announced in May 2008 plans to build a similar city in
Jordan -- to house 700,000 to one million people and designed more
as practical middle-class housing than as a "big statement." While
the Jordanian city will not be free of carbon emissions, it will use
many of the same technologies as MC to decrease energy and water
usage. Masdar itself will not be involved, although it is the brain
trust from which the concept was generated. (When asked about the
Jordan project, MC officials described any links to Masdar as
"journalist distortion." Officials explained that UK-based WSP, the
consultant which designed Masdar's utilities, is or was among the
consultants in the Jordan project. The connection ends there.
Officials described this instance as one of many examples of
companies wanting to claim some part of the Masdar name, evidence of
the success of the "branding" of Masdar.

MAKING SUSTAINABILITY (ECONOMICALLY) SUSTAINABLE:
THE CROWN PRINCE'S PROJECT
-------------- ---


10. (SBU) Officials stress that MC is not an isolated experiment,
but the initial concept that will seek solutions applicable to all
of Abu Dhabi and the world. Atypical in UAE development strategies,
MC is mandated to decrease demand for utilities. Officials stated
that MC must prove to be both environmentally and economically
profitable: if not, no one will repeat the experiment. Another goal
of Masdar is to "quantify the cost of green" for future projects.
When asked if any effects of Masdar were yet visible in other Abu
Dhabi projects, officials focused on the long term effect: "This is
the Crown Prince's Project. He's not going to let Masdar be a city
of green in an island of brown."

NOT THE ONLY BELIEVER
--------------


11. (U) Masdar is not alone in its belief in financial success for
renewable energy in the Gulf. The Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre
recently published a study concluding that: "Rising domestic energy
needs for power generation and desalination, favorable conditions
for solar energy production and interest in acquiring technological

ABU DHABI 00000945 003.2 OF 003


know-how make a perfect argument for renewable energy in the Gulf."
The report suggested that renewables could develop into a "major
pillar" of GCC economies, stretching the lifeline of oil and gas and
gradually substituting for them as a primary export. The report
suggested that solar energy in particular (both CSP and thin film
PV) have great promise. The emirates of Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai
have also announced feasibility studies and pilot projects for solar
power.


12. (SBU) Comment: With the full financial and political support of
Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince and the expertise of top international
consulting & technology firms, Masdar seems well on its way to
realizing a new level of environmental sustainability. Economic
sustainability (i.e., profitability) seems less certain. Clearly a
$22 billion project of this nature is a long term investment, some
of the benefits of which -- such as development of local capital --
are hard to quantify. It is both interesting and noteworthy that in
the face of rising electricity demand, sparked in large measure by
an oil-revenue inspired building boom, Abu Dhabi is diversifying in
the energy sector -- developing both renewable and nuclear energy
programs. Masdar clearly aims to put Abu Dhabi on the map in the
field of non-traditional energy. Given 10 years (at the outside) to
achieve its goal, the Emirate may well discover how viable that
sustainability is. End comment.
QUINN