DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Leaders of this major oil-producing Gulf country said Sunday they were plunging into the field of renewable energy, announcing a joint research venture into green energy with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The announcement comes a few months after the World Wildlife Fund labeled the Emirates the world's biggest per-capita producer of globe-warming greenhouse gases, mainly due to its profligate energy consumption.
The Emirates' early entry into the renewable energy arena comes amid squabbling over whether similar reforms should be embraced in the world's largest energy consumer, the United States.
The agreement signed Sunday between the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. and MIT created the Masdar Institute of Technology in Abu Dhabi. Masdar will pursue Abu Dhabi's plan to use its oil income to develop a more sustainable renewable energy sector and an economy based on green energy expertise.
We want 'talent and innovative technologies to enhance economic development and promote new industries using renewable energy,' said Sultan al-Jaber, ADFEC's chief executive.
Solar power in the sun-drenched country is one chief research area. The government of Abu Dhabi emirate has already dedicated $350 million to a giant solar power initiative.
MIT chancellor Phillip Clay said in a prepared release the MIT faculty and staff will provide 'advice, scholarly assessment and assistance.'
High energy demand in the Emirates is caused by a reliance on air conditioning, chilled swimming pools and a penchant for gas-guzzling four-wheel-drives. A cavernous mall in neighboring Dubai contains an indoor ski slope.
In the United States, renewable energy policy seems far from settled. President Bush said last month that he wants to require the use of 35 billion gallons a year of ethanol and other alternative fuels by 2017, a fivefold increase over current requirements.
At a Houston fundraiser Thursday night, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama stated the importance of the energy issue in his plans for the White House. Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney said Friday he is developing his own plan for energy independence.
The Emirates ranked fourth among Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2005 in terms of crude oil production after Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait. As of May 2006, it was producing 2.5 million barrels per day, according to the United States Energy Information Administration.
But the supplies are expected to gradually run out over the next century or so. The institute's mandate is to fill the gap in the budget that reduced oil sales will leave behind.
Last March, Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheik Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, kicked off the fund by stating the government of Abu Dhabi would donate 1 1/2 square miles of land for the development park housing the Masdar Initiative and $100 million for a 'clean technology fund.'
Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates that form the United Arab Emirates. It also contains the majority of its oil reserves, producing more than 85 percent of all oil from the Emirates combined. Its wealth has enabled the royal family of the Abu Dhabi to assume the leadership of the country.
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