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UAE announces renewable energy MIT joint venture

Leaders of the United Arab Emirates said on Sunday they were plunging into the field of renewable energy, announcing a joint research venture into green energy with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

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 US.

The agreement, signed on Sunday between MIT and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC) 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 US$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 US, renewable energy policy seems far from settled. President George W. Bush said last month that he wants to require the use of 133 billion liters a year of ethanol and other alternative fuels by 2017, a fivefold increase over current requirements.

At a Houston fundraiser on 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 on Friday he is developing his own plan for energy independence.

The Emirates was 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 last year, it was producing 2.5 million barrels per day, according to the US 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.

Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates that form the United Arab Emirates.
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