UAE's energy summit displays clean-tech solutions

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Participants at the 11th World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi have been showcasing new and coming generations of solar power systems, electric cars and waste management solutions that aim to make the planet more hospitable.

The summit, which runs through Thursday, expects over 30,000 professional visitors from across the globe, including manufacturers of renewable energy and clean tech products.

China's IT Electronics Eleventh Design and Research Institute Scientific and Technological Engineering Corporation Limited, a first-time participant, is showcases its photovoltaic (PV) tree system.

The photovoltaic tree developed by China's IT Electronics Eleventh Design and Research Institute Scientific and Technological Engineering Corporation Limited /Xinhua Photo

"We developed an artificial tree out of plastic with solar panels on it," said Sun Zhong, the associate dean of the company.

"The PV tree system consists of the PV power generation system and a bionic tree system. We have 30 branches across China and we want now to export the system to the world."

Earlier in the day, the UAE Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail Al-Mazrouei hailed China as an important country regarding the manufacturing of solar panels and cost reduction of solar energy and renewable energy.

According to the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency, prices for PV modules have fallen by 81 percent since 2009.

The minister said the UAE, a major oil supplier with 99 percent of domestic energy needs based on oil and gas, aims to increase the share of clean energy from a near zero three years ago to 50 percent by 2050.

At the Japanese pavilion at the Abu Dhabi exhibition center, Mirai Inc. showcases its cleaning robot "which cleans solar panels autonomously and without using water."

The solar-panel cleaning robot of Mirai Inc. /Mirai Photo

Tomohiro Shimazaki, a researcher in the firm's robot development department, said, "We started sales and we hope to find customers in the UAE."

Mirai claims that the cleaning effect of the robots is equal to manual cleaning and its Type 2 robot system can liberate 2,160 square meters of solar surface per hour from dust.

The UAE capital Abu Dhabi is home of Shams solar power station, one of the world's biggest solar power plants.

A general view of the solar power plant, Shams 1 /Reuters Photo

The UAE is also keen on developing its own clean tech solutions, instead of importing them.

On Monday, Abu Dhabi's government-controlled green energy entity Masdar unveiled its fully electrically powered "Eco-Bus," which was built by Masdar and UAE's Hailfat Industry.

The e-bus, with its lightweight aluminum body and rear batteries, will survive better in the high outdoor temperature in the summer months.

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency