Nikita Jayswal & Brian Warshay Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is located in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and is a part of the much larger Masdar Initiative, a USD $22 billion project with an overall goal of providing a foundation for renewable energy technology development and implementation in the UAE. For this case study, we are focusing on the Masdar Institute, which is the centerpiece of Masdar City, a planned city located outside of Abu Dhabi that is designed to be net zero carbon, nearly zero waste, with a target of 100 percent renewable energy that is expected to be completed by the end of this decade. This approach towards sustainability in the desert embodies cutting edge technology and design, reducing the inhabitant’s carbon, energy, and water footprints dramatically (http://www.masdar.ac.ae/home/index.aspx). The Masdar Institute is the first phase of the Masdar Initiative. It is a graduate institution dedicated to research in the engineering fields related to renewable energy and sustainability. It is, itself, a living laboratory. It is an exercise in sustainable design, emerging technologies, and policy. The laboratories, residences, library, and several commercial establishments in the first phase of the Masdar Institute’s planned construction are nearly completed and should be operational by the fall of 2010. The Institute is constructed with extremely well insulated walls, corridors that facilitate natural ventilation, includes locally sourced and sustainably produced materials, high-efficiency lighting, low-flow water fixtures, shading, and automatic controls for air conditioning and lighting. There will be 3,156 photovoltaic solar panels on the Masdar Institute’s rooftops with a capacity of 1 MW as well as a nearby 10 MW photovoltaic power plant supplying most of the site’s energy. Over 90 percent of the construction debris is being recycled. There are also several on campus initiatives being put in place to encourage environmentally conscious behavior among the student body. A student run Masdar Sustainability Club has been initiated by the student government and several active students to ensure that our on campus lifestyles are aligned with the goals of the Masdar Initiative. Members of the student body have already assisted the UAE WWF with several national initiatives, including supporting 350.org and the Heroes of the UAE campaign to educate school children about the risks posed by climate change and the benefits of reducing energy and water consumption (http://www.heroesoftheuae.ae/en). Another group of active students have initiated a Sustainable Agriculture and Gardening (SAG) Club to promote sustainable urban gardening and to experiment with growing a variety of edible desert plant species and handmade drip irrigation system as well as managing a small-scale composting operation. Two larger scale initiatives put in place to promote sustainability on our campus and to provide volunteer engineering support to developing nations are described in detail below. On Campus Energy Demand Management Market System To provide proper behavior incentives to encourage the residents of the Masdar Institute to reduce their energy consumption in their apartments, a demand management mechanism has been developed that will provide direct feedback to the residents regarding their energy usage. This mechanism introduces an energy-based currency as a type of financial incentive to encourage residents to reduce their energy consumption, thereby allowing a greater proportion of Masdar’s inhabitants to be able to draw their power from the limited supply of renewable energy produced on site. The energy credit currency (ergo) Page 1 of 4
Nikita Jayswal & Brian Warshay Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE corresponds to a specific unit of energy such that the total number of ergos available is equal to the renewable energy supply of the city. Inhabitants (residential, commercial, employees, visitors) can purchase a specific quantity of ergos which are exchanged for the energy “services� provided. For example, using public transit requires the user to surrender a specific number of ergos that correspond to the energy required to provide that service. This makes the use of an energy consuming device or behavior tangible to the user. The price of an ergo can vary with demand or supply in real-time to support peak shaving or load shifting goals as well. However, the implementation of such a program requires advanced energy infrastructure, including smart appliances, a local smart grid that can both monitor and control energy consumption by users, and an interactive smart-phone that allows users to buy and use ergos for desired services.1 Energy D-Lab Crew A group of students opted to take part in a voluntary class at Masdar called D-Lab Energy. This group, which works in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, aims at providing engineering solutions to communities in developing nations with energy related issues. The DLab Crew travelled to visit the villages of Terian and Buayan in the Malaysian part of the Island Borneo in March, 2010. The villages have 5 kW and 10 kW micro-hydroelectricity plants installed, respectively, to supply the villagers with electricity. These plants were installed by an NGO called PACOS (Reference: http://www.sabah.net.my/PACOS/). The villagers experience problems with the micro-hydro plants during the dry months of January, April, and September when there is not enough water flow to generate electricity. The micro-hydro systems are designed only to harvest the energy from falling water but have no flow regulation or energy storage system which results in significant energy being wasted through the ballast. The D-Lab Crew is examining solutions to the dry season energy deficiency including integrating an energy storage system where excess water is stored when there is a water surplus such that a more constant supply of electricity can be generated during times of water shortage. A second group from the D-Lab Crew visited the village of Buayan again in July, 2010. Fourteen hobo U12-006 data loggers were installed at villagers’ houses and a K20 Power Measurement and Recorder was installed at the power plant. These loggers are monitored and report monthly data to the team at the Masdar Institute on the power consumption of each household. Once the data is analyzed, the D-Lab Crew will use the information to develop a more permanent energy storage solution over a series of several future visits. Ultimately, the success of the Masdar Initiative will depend on the continued commitment of the Abu Dhabi government to support the Masdar Institute and its long-term research goals. If successful, the Masdar Institute will be a dynamic example of innovation, multi-national cross-collaboration, and a commitment towards permanently instilling a source of intellectual capacity necessary to propel this oil dependent culture along a more sustainable pathway of development.
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Sgouridis, S., Kennedy, S., Tangible and fungible energy: Hybrid energy market and currency system for total energy management. A Masdar City case study. Energy Policy (2009), doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2009.11.049 Page 2 of 4
Nikita Jayswal & Brian Warshay Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Masdar Institute Phase 1A as of July, 2010
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Nikita Jayswal & Brian Warshay Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
D-Lab Crew student Nadim Kanan and villager working on micro-hydro unit in July, 2010
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