Welcome to Abu Dhabi
....where things are rarely as they seem.
Another forget Dubai - check out what's going on in Abu Dhabi article, and these are the key things to look out for: big mosque, shangri-la from where you can see the mosque, going to be a grand prix, daynight yada yada, Emirates Palace, big big... OTT, regurgitate copy from other newspapers, blah blah yada yada.
Here's a taster:
George Mallory climbed Everest because it was there. The Emiratis, it seems, have turned theirs into lawn because they can. Welcome to Abu Dhabi, where things are rarely as they seem.
Most of the world's economies are in retreat, but the capital of the United Arab Emirates pushes on with business and leisure developments of the highest specification, all funded by petrodollars. When the oil does run out, Abu Dhabi hopes to have established itself as a haven for high-end tourists.
Thanks Daily Mail.
Amazingly, no mention of Manchester City! Unfortunately, they didn't cover Masdar, but no problem - Venture Beat to the rescue:
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned energy company, announced over the weekend that it will be raising between $300 and $600 million to start construction on Masdar City, the massive planned hub for cleantech research and innovation, especially in the renewable energy sector. As its name suggests, the development will also be a zero-carbon, zero-waste city for about 50,000 residents, the government in the United Arab Emirates capital claims.
Today, the company followed up with more news that Masdar City will be home to the Persian Gulf’s first geothermal energy facility, which will be used to power its 5-megawatt air conditioning system. Engineers will start drilling wells as soon as Nov. 1. Water will be pushed into these hot wells to be converted into steam, which will then turn turbines. This project alone is estimated to cost $11 billion. So far, it has signed one $1.6 million contract with Reykjavik Geothermal, a company from Iceland, where Geothermal expertise runs deep. Masdar says it plans to recruit five to six more contractors by the end of 2009.
Abu Dhabi looks to raise $600M for renewable energy hub, Masdar City
But the most worrying story of the week that noone has picked up on is about water...the water in the desert is running out:
According to the environment agency in Abu Dhabi, current consumption rates of underground water are 24 times higher than a sustainable level, said Raouf. “We have to do studies on how to make our water use sustainable. The fact we don’t have much agricultural land means we need to identify our agricultural capacity accurately and if required, import food,”
Now that's a real story.
Is the Gulf Running Out of Water?
Another forget Dubai - check out what's going on in Abu Dhabi article, and these are the key things to look out for: big mosque, shangri-la from where you can see the mosque, going to be a grand prix, daynight yada yada, Emirates Palace, big big... OTT, regurgitate copy from other newspapers, blah blah yada yada.
Here's a taster:
George Mallory climbed Everest because it was there. The Emiratis, it seems, have turned theirs into lawn because they can. Welcome to Abu Dhabi, where things are rarely as they seem.
Most of the world's economies are in retreat, but the capital of the United Arab Emirates pushes on with business and leisure developments of the highest specification, all funded by petrodollars. When the oil does run out, Abu Dhabi hopes to have established itself as a haven for high-end tourists.
Thanks Daily Mail.
Amazingly, no mention of Manchester City! Unfortunately, they didn't cover Masdar, but no problem - Venture Beat to the rescue:
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned energy company, announced over the weekend that it will be raising between $300 and $600 million to start construction on Masdar City, the massive planned hub for cleantech research and innovation, especially in the renewable energy sector. As its name suggests, the development will also be a zero-carbon, zero-waste city for about 50,000 residents, the government in the United Arab Emirates capital claims.
Today, the company followed up with more news that Masdar City will be home to the Persian Gulf’s first geothermal energy facility, which will be used to power its 5-megawatt air conditioning system. Engineers will start drilling wells as soon as Nov. 1. Water will be pushed into these hot wells to be converted into steam, which will then turn turbines. This project alone is estimated to cost $11 billion. So far, it has signed one $1.6 million contract with Reykjavik Geothermal, a company from Iceland, where Geothermal expertise runs deep. Masdar says it plans to recruit five to six more contractors by the end of 2009.
Abu Dhabi looks to raise $600M for renewable energy hub, Masdar City
But the most worrying story of the week that noone has picked up on is about water...the water in the desert is running out:
According to the environment agency in Abu Dhabi, current consumption rates of underground water are 24 times higher than a sustainable level, said Raouf. “We have to do studies on how to make our water use sustainable. The fact we don’t have much agricultural land means we need to identify our agricultural capacity accurately and if required, import food,”
Now that's a real story.
Is the Gulf Running Out of Water?
Labels: abu dhabi, masdar, masdar city
posted by grapeshisha at 9:39 PM
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