Abu Dhabi, one of the world’s largest oil producers, is seeking to become a centre for the development and the implementation of clean energy technology.
Last year, the emirate, which is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, began the Masdar Initiative, a far-reaching program that seeks to rope in various companies, government ministries and universities around the world to help develop and commercialize renewable energy technologies backed by Abu Dhabi’s money.
As a result within a decade, Abu Dhabi should have expertise in energy storage, carbon sequestration and hydrogen fuel.
The progress has many advocates of clean energy buzzing. $quot;For a player in that world to recognize that there’s this other component to the energy business is itself a recognition that the world is changing,$quot; said Marc Stuart, director of New Business Development at EcoSecurities, a research firm. $quot;It is a very significant move because the Middle East is one of the areas where renewable energy has never made any strides.$quot;
Most important, they say, it hopes to prepare itself for a world that will not be as reliant on fossil fuels as it is today. $quot;We realize that the world energy markets are diversifying, so we need to diversify, too,$quot; said Sultan al-Jaber, the chief executive of Masdar. $quot;We see the growth of renewable energy as an opportunity, not as a problem.$quot;
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