MASDAR CEO REQUESTS MEETING WITH SECRETARY CHU

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000355

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, EEB/ESC/IEC/ENR (MONOSSON) AND OES/EGC (THOMPSON)
DOE FOR HART
AMMAN FOR ESTH HUB OFFICER (BHALLA)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2019
TAGS: SENV ENRG PREL PGOV AE
SUBJECT: MASDAR CEO REQUESTS MEETING WITH SECRETARY CHU

CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR RICHARD G. OLSON FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D

REFS: A) ABU DHABI 329
B) ABU DHABI 301 AND PREVIOUS


1. (C) On April 1, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, the Abu Dhabi
Future Energy Company (masdar.ae) asked the Ambassador for assistance
in organizing a meeting with Secretary of Energy Chu during Al
Jaber's April 16-17 visit to Washington. Al Jaber, who has
previously met with former Secretary Bodman in January 2008, hopes to
discuss joint US and UAE interest in promoting the development and
use of renewable energy technologies. As outlined in Ref A, the UAE
has demonstrated significant political and financial commitment to
encouraging renewable energy production and consumption, primarily
through Masdar. Al Jaber, a US-educated chemical engineer, has lead
Masdar's efforts to promote renewables by encouraging research,
development and innovation in the UAE and abroad. The UAE has
serious resources to put into the international search for
alternative energy sources, and as such, UAE interest in these issues
should be seen as an opportunity for the USG.


2. (SBU) Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, was launched in
2006 as part of Abu Dhabi's efforts to diversify its economy away
from petroleum, while leveraging its historic expertise in global
energy markets. Masdar has established the Masdar Institute for
Science and Technology (MIST),in collaboration with MIT, to support
graduate level research on advanced energy and sustainability, begun
construction on the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city
(Masdar City),and launched the World Future Energy Summit and the
Zayed Future Energy Prize. Putting UAE money where its mouth is,
Masdar has also invested over USD 1 billion in foreign wind and solar
technology projects, including Torresol Energy (Spain),WinWinD
(Finland) and the London Array offshore wind farm (UK),among others.
Domestically, Masdar is developing solar production capacity and
working with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on carbon
capture and reinjection into oil fields. Masdar's efforts will help
the Emirate of Abu Dhabi reach a target of 7 percent power generation
from renewables by 2020.


3. (C) Comment and Action Request: The UAE's efforts to promote
renewables are backed by the senior leadership and Abu Dhabi's
financial wherewithal. Al Jaber's interest in engaging senior USG
officials may provide an opportunity to build support for our
environmental initiatives in the Arab world and developing countries.
Post seeks Washington guidance to respond to Al Jaber's request,
which is also likely to be passed through the UAE Embassy in
Washington.
OLSON