VZCZCXRO9650
RR RUEHAST RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM
DE RUEHAD #1424/01 3531339
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181339Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1895
INFO RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0863
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 8085
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 001424 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/RA AND OES 
STATE PASS TO USAID 
 
DOE FOR NREL 
COMMERCE FOR FCS 
EMBASSY AMMAN FOR ESTH HUB OFFICER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ETRD EAID PGOV KMPI EFIN AE
SUBJECT: ABU DHABI MASDAR CITY MAINTAINS CARBON NEUTRAL TARGET 
AMIDST IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES 
 
REF: Abu Dhabi 945 
 
ABU DHABI 00001424  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
(U) SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary: Masdar City - a six square kilometer grand 
experiment backed with $24 billion funding to create the world's 
first carbon-neutral, zero-waste, renewable energy powered city 
supporting 25,000 residents and 50,000 commuters - continues to work 
through many critical issues in its implementation.  Lofty ambitions 
remain -- and challenges abound -- but there are manifold 
opportunities for U.S. engagement and partnerships.  While current 
renewable energy solutions cannot meet Masdar City's projected 
energy needs, the team believes future technology improvements will 
let them achieve their objectives and remains confident about 
completing Masdar City (MC) by 2015 (reftel).  The first significant 
milestone for MC is August 2009 when the Masdar Institute for 
Science and Technology (MIST) will open its doors in partnership 
with MIT for 80 students.  A 10MW solar array has been selected to 
power this first phase.  Masdar is receptive to US private sector 
and government collaborations.  An October Department of 
Energy/national laboratory delegation visit yielded several 
collaboration areas.  Masdar also agreed to participate in an EPA 
led 2009 MEPI initiative to develop a pollution prevention/cleaner 
production network in the MENA region.   End summary. 
 
Lofty Ambitions on Track 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Amman ESTH Hub officer and Econoff held November 16 meetings 
with Masdar Sustainability Manager Christopher Drew and CH2MHill 
Sustainability Manager Richard Perry to discuss MC progress and 
opportunities for U.S. collaboration.  MC's ambitious plans include 
creating the world's first carbon-neutral, zero-waste, renewable 
energy powered city supporting 25,000 residents and 50,000 commuters 
in a six-square kilometer area.  Target completion is 2015, though 
the first major milestone for the opening of the Masdar Institute of 
Science and Technology (MIST) in collaboration with the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is scheduled for August 
¶2009.  MIST will grow from an initial 80 students to 400 students in 
graduate and doctoral programs and is expected to support renewable 
energy research and validate MC technology deployments. 
 
¶3.  (U) The current energy mix projection for powering MC is: 70 
percent solar photovoltaic cells (PV); 25 percent concentrated solar 
power (CSP); 4 percent waste conversion; and, 1 percent wind and 
other energy sources such as geothermal.  While a PV test site with 
40 1-kW arrays from 32 vendors is in operation, Masdar has already 
chosen SunPower for a 10MW roof-top array to power MIST by August 
¶2009.  Masdar also has several additional pilot studies in progress: 
a geo-thermal cooling study using ground sourced heat pumps; a CSP 
absorption study; a hydrogeology study; and a bio-mass study. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The US firm CH2MHill is the overall project manager and 
lead vendor for MC development.  Roughly 185 CH2MHill staff are 
supplementing 500-600 Masdar staff.  Despite the current global 
financial crisis, Drew and Perry noted they expect continued access 
to required funding. 
 
¶5.  (U) The buildings in MC will not be LEED or BREAM certified - 
which are commonly adopted international certifications for Green 
buildings.  Drew believes that the Masdar brand will rise far above 
LEED Platinum certification standards given how high they have set 
the bar for MC.  For instance, the buildings in MC can only be 
powered by renewable energy produced within MC. 
 
¶6.  (U) MC also targets reducing the carbon footprint of materials 
used in the full supply chain - from the source through to 
completion of construction.  Masdar plans to account for carbon 
emissions associated with the manufacturing of a product as well as 
the transportation of the product to MC.  Since shipping products 
from the US implies a higher carbon footprint, Drew said US 
manufactured products are at a potential disadvantage.  Masdar is 
also looking at the sources of energy used to make the materials. 
For instance, goods produced using geothermal energy in Iceland will 
fare better than goods produced using fossil fuel power.  Drew also 
wants to use sustainable materials and is seeking US expertise in 
this arena. 
 
Challenges Abound - Money Does Not Buy Time 
------------------------------------------- 
 
ABU DHABI 00001424  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Despite Masdar's lofty ambitions, challenges abound with 
hundred of details yet to be sorted out.  MC staff noted that Abu 
Dhabi government officials expect faster results.  However, there 
are many unknowns in a groundbreaking project such as MC and new 
challenges are being encountered every day.  Schedule management is 
the biggest challenge.  Drew noted, despite the expectation that if 
you throw enough money at a problem it can be solved, "If the 
technology is not there yet, it cannot be solved.  Money does not 
buy time." 
 
¶8.  (U) MC also finds itself in a technology conundrum - currently 
available technology does not allow the city to be fully sustained 
by its renewable energy generation.  However, with incremental 
technology improvements they have an expectation of achieving their 
target.  Energy generation from waste is also problematic: MC is 
expected to generate 80-90 tons of waste per day - typically not 
enough for a private sector company to set up a waste 
management-energy conversion facility which needs a minimum of 250 
tons/day.  Wind energy deployment in MC is also limited by 60 meter 
height restrictions imposed by the nearby Abu Dhabi airport. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Water is another challenge for MC and perhaps the area 
where MC's grand ambitions might be showing some cracks.  The 
initial objective was to extract groundwater and desalinate.  The 
current options being considered include: getting off-site water 
piped to Masdar; undertaking sea-water desalination; or, using 
bottled potable water. 
 
Significant Opportunities for US engagement 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶10.  (U) A Department of Energy delegation including the national 
laboratories visited Masdar in early October and reviewed potential 
collaboration areas.  The delegation discussed several potential 
collaboration areas with Masdar including smart-grid management, 
sustaining the operational efficiency of MC, hosting MC staff at the 
US national laboratories, and providing analysis and feedback to MC 
regarding their solar array performance. 
 
¶11.  (U) In addition, Drew and CH2MHill noted that they continue to 
seek linkages to US private sector representatives who can provide 
innovative renewable energy solutions.  Masdar is able to explore 
potential technology solutions through demonstration projects, joint 
ventures, or through an RFP process.  Masdar specifically requested 
assistance for linkages to sustainable material vendors.  To respond 
to this interest, DOE led a US trade delegation visit to Masdar in 
late October. 
 
¶12.  (U) ESTH Hub officer also shared information about EPA plans to 
develop a pollution prevention/cleaner production network in the 
MENA region through a MEPI program.  Modeled after the US National 
Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) which is a consortium of 
government, private sector and civil society members, the planned 
MENA network would bring industry and government sector 
representatives together.  The EPA and the NPPR plan to support 2 
meetings in 2009 to lay the foundation for developing this MENA 
network.  Masdar staff expressed their desire to join such an effort 
and benefit from regional experiences. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Comment:  Despite the global financial crisis and related 
liquidity problems, Masdar officials remain confident of high-level 
political and financial commitment to the project's success. 
Indeed, senior Abu Dhabi officials stress that Masdar is a key 
investment in the emirate's long-term economic diversification 
efforts.  Masdar's deep coffers should attract U.S. private sector 
renewable energy companies.  However, besides being a technology 
solutions user, Masdar also hopes to become a technology solutions 
provider and investor through its Clean Technology Fund.  Masdar's 
ambitions are greater than just showcasing Masdar City; Masdar's 
parent Mubadala has also invested in General Electric, a 120 million 
euro investment in a Finnish wind-turbine manufacturer, and set up a 
PV manufacturing plant in Germany.  Recognizing the opportunities, 
other countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and 
Japan are also actively engaged in varied collaborations with MC. 
End Comment. 
 
¶14.  (U) The next Masdar-sponsored World Future Energy Forum 
(http://www.worldfutureenergysummit.com) will be held January 21-23, 
2009 in Abu Dhabi and is expected to draw high-profile international 
 
ABU DHABI 00001424  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
participation. The January 2008 event included participation by 
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman. 
OLSON