England’s London Array just placed its last wind turbine and switched online as the world’s largest wind farm. Located in the Thames Estuary, the farm consists of 175 turbines that will power the area from Essex to Margate. Owned by Dong Energy, Masdar and EON, the 141 turbine (630 MW) phase one of the London Array is now fully functional.

Read the rest of London Array: The World’s Largest Wind Farm Switches Online in the UK

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "wind power", "wind turbine", blackfriars bridge, dong energy, eco design, EON, green design, London Array, london green energy, london wind power, Masdar, renewable energy, siemens, sustainable design, thames estuary, wind farm, world's largest wind farm

It might seem ironic that the oil-rich Middle East also holds nearly half of the world’s renewable energy potential – but yesterday the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, officially inaugurated Shams 1, the largest concentrated solar power plant (CSP) in the world. The plant was designed and developed by Shams Power Company, and it cost $600 million and took three years to build. It’s owned by Masdar, Abengoa Solar and Total.

Read the rest of World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Plant Switches On in Abu Dhabi

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: abengia solar, abu dhabi, abu dhabi's renewable energy target, ceo of masdar, large-scale solar projects, Masdar, middle east renewable power potential, shams 1, Shams Power company, sheikh khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, sultan ahmed al jabber, total, world's largest concentrated solar power plant

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: abu dhabi, Around the world in 80 days, Brusa, closed cabin electric bike, Design, Designwerk, eco design, electric bike, green transportation, luxury electric bike, Masdar, sustainable design, swiss, Swiss electric bike, Tobias Wülser, World Future Energy Summit 2013, world's most efficient luxury vehicle, Zerotracer

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "clean energy", "sustainable development", abu dhabi, alternative energy, clean tech, green design, Masdar, Masdar Clean Energy, parabolic trough technology, renewable energy, shams 1, Shams Power company, Solar Power, world's largest solar power plant

Read the rest of PHOTOS: Siemens’ LEED Platinum Headquarters at Masdar City Nears Completion

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "energy efficiency", "leed", abu dhabi, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, clean tech, Daylighting, eco design, Emirates Palace Hotel, Estidama, green design, LEED platinum, Masdar, masdar city, President of Iceland, siemens, Sustainability, sustainable design, Zayed Future Energy Prize

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: abu dhabi, abu dhabi sustainability week, air-scrubbing pavilion, clean tech, eco design, green design, Gulf, hwkn, March Kushner, Masdar, Matthias Hollwich, MoMO PS1 Young Architects Program, oil, renewable energy, Sheikha Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, smog eating pavilion, sustainable design, united arab emirates, Wendy, WFES

Read the rest of Spiky Blue Wendy Pavilion Travels Abroad to Clean the Air During Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", abu dhabi, abu dhabi sustainability week, air purifying, Air quality, Architecture, Art, eco design, eco-art, green architecture, Green Building, green design, hwkn, Masdar, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, Wendy, wendy abroad

The Siemens Headquarters by architects Sheppard Robson in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi is anticipated to be the first LEED Platinum office building in the Middle East, and it could set a new standard for sustainable building practices in that region. The headquarters is part of a strategic partnership between Masdar and Siemens to develop and utilize key energy-efficient technologies. Masdar City, a new area in Abu Dhabi designed by Foster and Partners, is envisioned as a hub for sustainable urban development, renewable energy and other clean technologies – and the Siemens Headquarters is a perfect anchor project for it.

Read the rest of Siemens Headquarters to be the First LEED Platinum Office Building in the Middle East

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: abu dhabi, connection to pedestrians, connection to transit, first LEED Platinum office building in the Middle East, Foster and Partners, LEED Platinum building, Masdar, masdar city, maximixing views, maximizing daylight, mitigating solar heat gain, reducing energy consumption, reducing water consumption, renewable energy company in Abu Dhabi, shading system, Siemens Headquarters Middle East, space plan flexibility, sustainable urban design, void-forming technology

DONG Energy, E.On and Masdar just announced that their joint venture the London Array – soon to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm – switched on for the first time today! The wind farm, which started construction in March of 2011, is situated 12 miles off of the coasts of Kent and Essex in the Thames Estuary. It will be the the largest off-shore wind farm in the world when completed, and it will boast 175 wind turbines by the end of its first phase, which is projected to be at the end of the year.

Read the rest of London Array: World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Generates Energy for the First Time

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: dong energy, E.ON, largest off-shore wind farm, London Array, Masdar, red-throated diver population, renewable energy production, thames estuary, wind turbines

Read the rest of Siemens’ Middle East Headquarters Will Be An Energy Efficient Model for Masdar City

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: abu dhabi, eco design, energy efficient design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, high performance envelope, high performance facade, LEED platinum, Masdar, masdar city, Sheppard Robson, siemens, Siemens Headquarters, siemens middle east headquarters, siemens real estate, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Read the rest of 7 Gorgeous Green Buildings in the Middle East

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: abu dhabi, airport, Aldar Central Market, casablanca, eco design, erhlich architecture, Foster + Partners, green design, kuwait, LEED gold, Masdar, masdar city, morocco, qatar, solar-powered, solar-powered stadiums, sports stadiums, sustainable design, Zero Carbon, zero-emissions

Torresol Energy has overcome one of solar energy’s biggest challenges: operating when the sun doesn’t shine. The 19.9 MW Gemasolar concentrated solar power plant in Spain’s Andalucia province has two tanks of molten salt (MSES) that store heat energy generated throughout the day. Unlike normal plants that have less thermal storage or none at all, this stored energy enables Torresol to satisfy peak summer energy demand long after sunset. A joint venture between Spanish giant Sener and Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s Future Energy Company, the Gemasolar plant has hurdled one of alternative energy’s biggest obstacles. Check out a video of the operation after the jump!

Read the rest of Spain’s Gemasolar Array is the World’s First 24/7 Solar Power Plant!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "solar energy", Andalucia, csp, eco design, Gemasolar, green design, Masdar, molten salt, renewable energy, Spain, sustainable design, thermal energy, Torresol

Today Foster + Partners officially inaugurated the solar-powered Masdar Institute, the first phase of their ambitious carbon-neutral Masdar City. The net energy-positive institute represents Abu Dhabi’s contribution in pioneering sustainable technologies, and it showcases a multitude of efficient systems and design strategies that allow the development to run without carbon-based fuels.

Read the rest of Foster + Partners Inaugurate Solar-Powered Masdar Institute!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Carbon Neutral City, eco-city, Foster + Partners, green architecture, green design, Masdar, masdar inauguration, masdar institute, sustainable design

Read the rest of Foster + Partners’ Carbon Neutral Masdar City Rises in the Desert

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable development", abu dhabi, Foster + Partners, Masdar, Norman Foster, united arab emirates

It seems everyone is rolling out with plans for the world’s largest this or that and the UAE is joining the fray with a massive concentrated solar energy project called Shams 1. Masdar is teaming up with French oil company Total and Spanish solar company Abengoa Solar to build a 100 MW solar plant outside of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Compared to the monster Desertec project in Europe and North Africa, Shams 1 is a drop in the bucket, but will be up and running long before Desertec secures financing.

Read the rest of UAE Announces Plans for World’s Largest Solar Plant

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "solar energy", abengoa solar, concentrating solar power, csp, eco design, green design, Masdar, renewable energy, shams 1, Solar Power, total, uae, united arab emirates, world's largest solar project

Australia-based LAVA Architects recently won the bid to design the City Center for super sustainable eco-city Masdar in the UAE. LAVA imagined an outdoor city center based on traditional European public plazas that would encourage social interaction. However, Masdar’s arid climate make outdoor spaces subject to the blistering heat of the desert. To ameliorate this problem and create a comfortable place to gather and shop, the architects incorporated adaptive building technologies, and efficient use of energy and water — creating a rather dazzling sustainable city center.

Read the rest of LAVA’s Winning Design for Masdar’s City Center

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: dubai, eco-city, LAVA, LAVA architects, Masdar, masdar city centre, middle east eco city, public plaza, sustainable city

Just when you thought development in the United Arab Emirates couldn’t get any crazier, here comes a new UAE eco-city to rival Masdar. Intended to be entirely sustainable and cater to residents’ every conceivable whim within its four walls, the new Ras al Khaimah eco city development in the United Arab Emirates, design by Rem Koolhaas’s OMA office, is often likened to that of the zero-carbon, zero-waste Masdar. Cutting-edge solar technology will power the 1.2 million square meter city, built using locally-sourced Arabian materials and aesthetic styles to support the city’s overall ethos of sustainability. Leave it to Rem to design something so grand it could possibly upstage Masdar- we’ll see how it unfolds!


Read the rest of Rem Koolhaas’ Ras Al Khaimah’s Eco City to rival Masdar

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: arab eco city, Eco city in UAE, Gateway City, Masdar, middle east eco city, oma, Ras Al Khaimah, Ras Al Khaimah development, Ras Al Khaimah’s Eco City to rival Masdar, Rem Koolhaus, supercities, supercity, sustainable urban design, united arab emirates

Not settling for mere zero-energy, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill’s Masdar Headquarters are setting new design standards for green building, with their scheme that generates more energy than it consumes. The Masdar Headquarters building outside of Abu Dhabi is also the first building in history to generate power for its own assembly, using a solar roof pier that will be built first to power the rest of the construction.

Read the rest of World’s First Positive Energy Building in Masdar, Abu Dhabi

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", abu dhabi, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, green architecture, Green Building, green design, Masdar, Masdar Headquarters, positive energy building, positive-energy, Sustainable Building, sustainable city, sustainable design, united arab emirates, Zero Carbon, Zero energy, zero waste

Norman Foster’s Masdar City is poised to become world’s most sustainable, zero-waste, car-free, carbon neutral city. The model for the city was formally unveiled on 21st January at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. We’ve talked about the grand scheme before, but the official debut deserves some new attention, given its viewing and support from everyone from General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and even President George W. Bush. The construction would start the next month, and the city is likely to open in late 2009.

Read the rest of Plans for Foster’s Masdar Carbon Neutral City Debut

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Foster+Partners, Green Building, green design, Masdar, Norman Foster, Sustainable Urbanism, Walled City, Zero Carbon, zero waste

Foster + Partners is at it again with their design for Masdar in Abu Dhabi, the world’s first zero-carbon and zero-waste city. The new 6 million square meter walled sustainable development Masdar was driven by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and will contain their new Headquarters along with a new university devoted to new ideas for energy production. Additional planning incorporates a variety of special economic zones and a center for innovation. We’ve seen sustainable structures from Foster before, from his Green Library in Berlin to the proposed Entertainment Center in Kazakhstan, but this takes Foster’s green initiatives to a whole new scale.

Read the rest of NORMAN FOSTER’S GREEN DESERT UTOPIA In Abu Dhabi

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Foster+Partners, Green Building, green design, Masdar, Norman Foster, Sustainable Urbanism, Walled City, Zero Carbon, zero waste