Date Created: 01 November 2011
Scotland's thriving low carbon technology sector could be further developed thanks to a futuristic city in the desert.
Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, welcomed Scotland's key role in collaboration and knowledge transfer in the development of a low carbon economy on a visit to Abu Dhabi's Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Mr Salmond said:
"Scotland is a world renewable energy champion and is continuing to play a major role in driving the global adoption of renewable sources of power, innovations in grid technology and R&D in wind turbine development.
"The innovative work being undertaken here at the Masdar Institute is further indication that other nations are recognising the need to move to preserve the quality of the natural environment, which is one of the major global concerns facing us today and one of the most critical challenges of the 21st century.
"As the world moves towards a low-carbon economy, there is mutual benefit to be had from working in collaboration to create these technologies. The emergence of the renewable energy sector in the UAE will bring with it a new spectrum of employment opportunity and technology sharing and I look forward to Scotland playing an active part in this knowledge transfer."
The Masdar Institute is the driving force in Abu Dhabi's work to develop, commercialise and deploy renewable and alternative energy technologies.
The campus provides a test bed for projects to develop commericially viable, sustainable energy solutions. The Institute provides research facilities and expertise for the Masdar group and the UAE as a whole.
As part of his visit Mr Salmond met with senior officials from Masdar and some of the senior academics working at the institute.
On a tour of the city he saw at first hand the 10 MW photovoltaic powers plant which power the low waste, low carbon city as well as the Masdar Institute campus, one of the most sustainable in the world.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Masdar's CEO, said:
"We are pleased to welcome First Minister Salmond to Masdar, to showcase the work we are doing to a broader audience and explore areas for possible collaboration. As a leading player in both the UAE and the wider clean tech market, we are eager to work with other like-minded countries such as Scotland to raise awareness and develop solutions to mitigate climate change."
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