Abu Dhabi Is Looking For Alternative Sources Of Fuels.

MEED noted on Dec. 1 that, when in March 2006 Abu Dhabi's Executive Affairs Authority (EAA) announced the launch of the Masdar initiative, it did not grab the international headlines, adding: "But there are few doubts it will go a long way towards addressing increasing global concerns about energy conservation and efficiency". The programme is based on four key elements:

An innovation centre to develop new technologies.

A university, including global research institutes offering specialist graduate programmes in renewable energy and sustainability.

A development company to focus on the commercialisation of emissions reduction in line with the Kyoto protocol.

A special economic zone to host institutions that will invest in the production of renewable energy.

MEED said the initiative had the full backing of the government. A four-square-kilometre site has been allocated to set up a campus and a $100m clean technology fund has been created for Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. (ADFEC) - the main operating firm - to co-invest with the private sector on developing new technologies. For ADFEC, the mandate is clear: development and commercialisation of advanced and innovative technologies in renewable energy, energy efficiency and the management of carbon resources and its monetisation for industries to be set up in the emirate.

"We have launched the alternative energy resources programme and plan the use of hydrogen [H2] for power generation", Ahmad al-Sayegh, chief executive of Abu Dhabi-owned Dolphin Energy, said while addressing delegates at the MEED Major New Project Opportunities in Abu Dhabi conference in late November. He added: "There is also a major opportunity with CO2 [carbon dioxide], particularly for reinjection [into maturing oilfields]".

The Masdar initiative is at an early stage, but MEED said "lessons can be drawn from the world's first industrial-scale hydrogen-powered project being developed in Scotland by...BP and its partner, Scottish & Southern Energy". The project is aimed at generating electricity using H2 produced from natural gas. Called decarbonised fuels (DF 1), it calls for construction of a 475 MW power plant at Peterhead, near Aberdeen. The carbon-free electricity generated will be enough to light 500,000 homes in the UK and store 1.8 million tons of CO2. Foster Wheeler of the US, which did an initial study for the project, is preparing the front-end engineering and design (FEED).

A Foster Wheeler statement says: "In a nutshell, DF 1 will combine separate technologies - hydrogen production, power generation and carbon capture and storage for enhanced oil recovery - in one integrated project. While each of the component technologies are already proven, their proposed combination at this scale is unique".

Natural gas feedstock for the plant will be sourced from the North Sea. The gas will be transported onshore and converted in an auto-thermal reformer, which will then convert the methane gas into H2 and CO2. All eyes will be on the Peterhead project. In a late November statement, BP said: "While the technologies for the use of hydrogen in power are proven and in use, much remains to be done to commercialise and develop a novel approach to clean fuel. Once hydrogen power has proven its viability, there is also no limit to how much power we can produce using this technology. Coal, for example, is an ideal fuel for this technology".

BP is carrying out work on a similar project at Carson, California. When completed in 2011, it will be the world's largest hydrogen-fired power plant. The proposed capacity is 500 MW - sufficient to light 325,000 homes in southern California.

MEED noted: "Blessed with about 90,000 million barrels of crude oil and 237 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, there is no pressing reason for Abu Dhabi to move ahead with the development of alternative energy resources. However, given that the annual demand for power requires Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) to build 1,500-2,000 MW of new capacity annually over the coming few years, the Masdar initiative is laudable".

MEED quoted EAA chairman Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak as having said in March: "Masdar is a significant investment and renewable energy technologies are a logical extension of Abu Dhabi's existing position as a leading energy producer. We recognise that the future of sustainability and renewable energy lies in both increased scale and commercialisation. Our approach is about creating a significant initiative; one born out of partnership with commercial entities that already do, or will, lead the sector".