Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Regulation and Supervision Bureau and British Petroleum, BP, on Tuesday announced the launch of a research project that will help Abu Dhabi to model demands on water and energy resources in the Emirate to the year 2030.
The project builds on BP’s collaboration with researchers from 15 leading universities around the world in a programme called the Energy Sustainability Challenge.
Through this, BP has supported the development of an advanced analytical programme, known as the Foreseer, with the University of Cambridge. This highly advanced tool enables users to visualise the impact of different decisions and scenarios on water, land and energy.
Nick Carter, Director-General of the Bureau, said, “Over the next two decades, Abu Dhabi is forecast to continue on its track of economic and population growth. In this context and in our role as the regulator of the Emirate’s water, wastewater and electricity sector, we seek to provide policy makers with a long–term view on future capacity and product availability.”
He added, “We are pleased to be working with BP, given their knowledge and understanding of the use of water in energy production, and the researchers at the University of Cambridge whose development and research skills are well known. This is an exciting collaboration between three very different organisations and will provide an integrated approach to the challenges ahead.”
The scope of the project with the Bureau includes generating a model of future energy and water use, taking into account factors such as population growth and economic development. The Foreseer tool will show the current use of water for households, commercial projects, energy, agriculture and other industry. It will model the different sources and uses of energy in Abu Dhabi and develop future scenarios that could have implications for policy decisions today. The first phase of the project will be completed during 2014.
BP’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Angela Strank, said, “BP is very pleased to support the analysis of natural resources for Abu Dhabi. Developing a clear technical understanding of the complex relationships between energy, land and water, and visualising these using the innovative Foreseer tool, will provide valuable insights to help policy makers with important decisions.”
Dr. Julian Allwood, Reader in Engineering with the University of Cambridge and consultant for the project, commented, “The Foreseer tool has proven value in allowing us to visualise and model long-term water and energy scenarios. This is an exciting opportunity to work with the Bureau to help explore the future of water and energy for Abu Dhabi.”
