Abu Dhabi: Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, plans to drill 5,000-metre-deep wells in search of water hot enough to propel power generators for a zero-carbon city, according to an official at CH2M Hill, consultant to Masdar.
"We want the temperature to be above 100 degrees Celsius," Jay Witherspoon, operations director and technology leader, said in a phone interview from Abu Dhabi. "The thermal energy can offset the electrical energy needed to cool the city."
At the level underground water is found in Abu Dhabi — 12 metres — the temperature of the water averages 30 degrees Celsius, which is not sufficient, according to Witherspoon. At 100 degrees or above, the heat from the water can be monetised.
The green development known as Masdar City is being built in Abu Dhabi, which holds more than 7 per cent of the world's oil reserves and is the fourth-largest member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The city is expected to need 12,000 cubic metres of water a day when it's completed, Ameenah Al Kulaib, manager of Masdar's water department, said at a conference last week.
Although the first phase won't be ready until 2013, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology has started operations on-site and is using water from Abu Dhabi's grid, Al Kulaib said. Carbon emissions from this water use are being tracked and ways of offsetting them are being studied, she said.
"Our goal is to be carbon-neutral by the time the city is built out," Witherspoon said.
