Pretty hot sculpture, pretty cool power

Image: Decker Yeadon LLC

Solar panels are becoming common sights in our daily lives: from our backpacks to the tops of our neighbourhoods. But one thing that nobody’s accused solar panels of being, thus far, is pretty. But that’s going to change if one project has its way.

The Light Sanctuary would be a solar plant with style. Using 80,000 square km of incredibly thin solar panels, the installation would look like a giant, deep brown maze placed in the middle of desert, producing up to 4,592 MW-hours annually.

Designed by the American firm Decker Yeagan, the sculpture is an entry into the Land Art Generator Initiative, a contest sponsored by none other than Masdar, the body responsible for the United Arab Emirates’ energy showcase. The contest is designed to reward installations that also happen to provide large scale clean energy generation. According to the initiative’s website: “The works will serve to inspire and educate while they provide renewable power to thousands of homes around the world.”

The UAE also recently announced a similarly ambitious project: the Shams 1 solar power plant. At 100 MW, the Shams 1 has a far a higher capacity than its more artistic brother. At this stage, it’s just not practical to sacrifice functionality for attractiveness, leaving the Light Sanctuary as more of a visual demonstration than a bona fide power plant.

And while the Light Sanctuary and the Shams 1 are baking in the sun, researchers in the UK are finding ways of cooling power down.

Researchers at the University of Leeds in the U.K. and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed using excess electricity to chill nitrogen and oxygen. The idea is that the stored gases could be reheated by waste heat, and their gaseous forms could drive turbines. Like a smart grid, this system would directly address one of the most fundamental problems with the way we currently use electricity: peak demand. In those periods where we have more energy than we know what to do with, we’d simply cool it down.

So whether we’re trying to put a pretty face on our solar power, or using our excess power to keep things cool, one thing’s clear: If the future’s certainly going to look different, it’s nice to know that it might look prettier too.

Making an example of Masdar

In energy strategy documents across the country, energy efficiency has been identified as one of the best ways of decreasing total energy use. Replacing light bulbs and buying better appliances are valuable steps, but one of the most profound changes being suggested are in the basic infrastructure that we use every day.

Across Canada, infrastructure improvements have included incentives for energy efficient building and smart meters to monitor and modify daily energy use. But while Canada is taking a series of small steps in its energy-related infrastructure, the United Arab Emirates is taking a single giant one: they’re building an entire city specifically designed to showcase energy efficient infrastructure and alternative energy sources.

Masdar City, created under the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company will eventually be home to 50,000 residents over six square kilometres. Located east of the capital city of Abu Dhabi, adjacent to the international airport, the city will be carbon neutral, produce zero waste and utilize all water, including waste.

It’s no coincidence that Masdar City is being built in an emirate whose crude oil exports make up nearly 60 per cent of its GDP. With non-renewable energy already integral to the region’s economy, proven strength in the growing renewables sector would provide a diversified, enduring position as an energy leader. Energy is already showcased in Abu Dhabi’s annual hosting of the World Future Energy Summit, and the city is also currently home to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In 2011, this IRENA secretariat will be transferred to Masdar City itself, where its advanced energy infrastructure will provide an exemplar of the world’s future energy use.

So, what will a city designed to use the most advanced energy-efficient infrastructure look like?

First and most importantly in an emirate driven by oil: Masdar City will run entirely on renewable sources including solar, geothermal and waste-to-energy. Under its “Technology Roadmap,” Masdar hopes to continue work in over 90 programs focused on these areas, both as showcase technologies and functional pieces of the city’s operations. But it isn’t just the power that fuels the city that will be different than the urban infrastructure we’re already familiar with.

Canadian transportation accounts for 36 of our total emissions. In Masdar City, transportation emissions will be reduced to zero through the city’s inherently walkable design — shaded, narrow walkways that reduce glare — and cutting edge transportation technology. Plans include providing a “Personal Rapid Transit” (PRT) system, with more than 3,000 emission-free vehicles at 85 stations operating 24 hours a day. Through the city and beyond, a six-station LRT system will connect Abu Dhabi, Masdar City and the airport.

Water, meanwhile, always an important consideration in a desert city, will also be taken care of in novel ways. A solar-powered desalination tank will provide drinking water for the city, and the resulting grey (waste) water from the city’s activities will be collected and used for irrigation.

All these technological changes will be supported by the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, which is already in its second semester of operation. Partnering with MIT, the focus is on developing the alternative energy technologies that will enable future cities like Masdar. After all, if the infrastructure that allows us to use our energy needs to change, that change will ultimately have to be a global.

Masdar chosen for IRENA headquarters

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has chosen an unlikely location for its headquarters – a mirage in the desert.

Near the city of Abu Dhabi, the carbon-neutral city of Masdar is being built. It will run entirely on solar and wind energy, and allow no cars; the streets will be only ten feet wide. Electric rapid transit will transport people underground and overhead. A solar-powered desalination tank will provide drinking water. The city’s grey water will be collected and used for irrigation. Waste-to-energy plants are in the works. Looking at all of this, it’s no wonder IRENA chose Masdar for its headquarters –it just hasn’t been built yet.

The announcement has raised a few eyebrows and provoked quite a few questions. Is it greenwashing on behalf of a small country with an enormous footprint? Is it insurance for oil companies, if they believe the fossil fuel era is winding down?

Time, as it always does, will tell. Masdar itself isn’t scheduled to be completed until 2012. Until then, construction will be monitored closely by the World Wildlife Fund and BioRegional to verify it walks the sustainable talk.

For what it’s worth, the WWF and BioRegional are optimistic. Both have already endorsed Masdar as a “One Planet Living Community.” That designation means it will only use its “fair share” of resources as determined by them.

That really should be no problem, if Masdar really becomes a zero-emissions, zero-waste city.