Huge Rush of Money & Talent into Sustainable Energy
The United Arab Emirates has broken ground on what it calls the world’s first carbon-free city. Situated in Abu Dhabi, the 2.3-square mile, zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city is known as Masdar (”the source” in Arabic). Masdar CEO, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, says the total development budget for the city is $22 billion. Of that investment total, Masdar will contribute $4 billion to develop the city’s infrastructure. The remaining $18 billion will come through direct investments and the creation of various financial instruments to raise capital.
Executive search firm, A.E. Feldman says there is a huge rush of talent and money into sustainables - or renewable energy sources, such as solar power, biofuels and wind power. One senior industry veteran and management consultant working with A.E. Feldman says, “Very few people understand this business yet but the wealth of individuals and institutional investors getting involved is enormously high. Interest in alternative fuels is absolutely growing and attention to the sector will only increase.”
Masdar City is expected to run on sustainable technologies, such as photovoltaic cells, concentrated solar power and wind turbines. By implementing these technologies, the masterminds behind the city project Masdar will save the equivalent of more than US $2 billion in oil over the next 25 years, based on today’s energy prices. They say the city will also create more than 70,000 jobs and will add more than two percent to Abu Dhabi’s annual GDP.
The Masdar Initiative also projects the following demand reductions:
- 75% reduction in installed power capacity
- Water needs cut by more than 50%
- Masdar City will need virtually no landfill area
“We are creating a city where residents and commuters will live the highest quality of life with the lowest environmental footprint,” said Dr. Al Jaber. “Masdar City will become the world’s hub for future energy. By taking sustainable development and living to a new level, it will lead the world in understanding how all future cities should be built.”
Masdar is set to be completed by 2016. The city’s developers say it will eventually grow to 1,500 businesses and 50,000 residents. (30% will be zoned for housing; 24% for the business and research district; 13% for commercial purposes).
Going Green is Global
Masdar may be the first carbon-free city, but governments and entrepreneurs around the world are making an effort to “go green.”
The green energy sector is booming. Concerns over climate change, sustainability and skyrocketing energy prices have created vast opportunities for entrepreneurs to profit as investors seek to fund green power generation and technologies, according to Times Online. The report paraphrases Financier and Entrepreneur, Philip Holbeche, as saying that entrepreneurs able to form an effective management team and put a solid business together have never had a better chance to create a successful green business. In short, entrepreneurs must be the link between the science behind the technology and a successful business.
A.E. Feldman says that building effective teams is getting easier as talent flocks to the sector. Right now, the recruiting firm says the burgeoning alternative fuel industry is looking for super-brokers who can funnel money into their businesses.
There is also mounting pressure on corporations to change the way they do business to be more sustainable. The trend is opening doors for consultants. Times Online reports there is growing demand for specialists who can help businesses with carbon trading, auditing and offsetting, and help them to manage their energy consumption, waste and recycling activities. The report suggests that in time, consultants in these areas will become as common as IT consultants are today.
