Woods Hardwick's Highlights from the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi

BEDFORD, ENGLAND, February 17, 2011 (Press-News.org) Woods Harwick's Commercial Director, Karl Myhill was there for the second year running, to find out about the latest technologies and innovations in renewable energy, and how they can be incorporated into our working.

An inspired Karl said, "the summit was very interesting and enjoyable, and certainly provided Woods Hardwick with a number of options to expand their portfolio of sustainable materials and methods."

The main emphasis throughout the summit was the use of solar sources to create renewable energy, with many international companies presenting the latest development of photovoltaic (PV) panels and solar collectors. As well as the usual building mounted systems and integrated claddings systems, there were a number of companies promoting their systems that encompass large areas of PV's to create solar power plant projects. Although a significant number of European companies have already illustrated their expertise in this area (it has been used in Spain and Germany to date), it is of particular interest in the Middle East and is set to become more widespread.

Future trends: photovoltaics investment opportunities
Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) became available in the UK in April 2010, and allow householders and businesses to be paid for generating their own electricity from renewable or low-carbon sources.

At Woods Hardwick, we are already incorporating PV panels on the roofs of some of our industrial buildings as clients start taking advantage of the feed-in tariff, and this will, hopefully, mark the beginning of a new trend.

With that in mind, one of the companies that work in this area and offer exciting new investment opportunities is Q.Cells, one of the world's largest solar companies based in Germany. Q.Cells has two aims - to drive down costs of photovoltaics quickly and permanently, and to make solar power competitive. Of particular interest, is their latest system that allows their partners to invest with them, and profit from reduced PV costs. Certainly one to watch.

Integrated photovoltaic façade systems
Even without the introduction of feed-in tariffs, the economic potential of solar power plants is steadily increasing. Grid parity (the point at which alternative means of generating electricity is at least as cheap as grid power) is imminent in several core PV markets and solar electricity is now competitively expanding into new growth areas. The use of PV façades will influence the way buildings are designed in the future, and this is an avenue Woods Hardwick are keen to explore in more detail. Karl spoke with representatives from Schott Solar, another German company who have a wealth of experience in working with integrated photovoltaic façade systems. They provided some interesting information on the latest methods in this area that Woods Hardwick hope to incorporate into their future buildings.

New sustainable grading system in the Middle East
As in the UK, the Middle East is very serious about sustainable developments, and as such, the Government there, in conjunction with the Emirates Green Building Council, is currently developing a new system of grading to mirror that of the successful UK BREEAM system and US LEED system. Entitled ESTIDAMA, it will be a statutory requirement from 2011 onwards and uses a pearl rating system, with all buildings in the region required to achieve a rating of 1 or 2. Woods Hardwick is a member of the UK Green Building Council, so it was very interesting to see the Emirates Green Building Council being promoted at the conference through this initiative. The Councils are organisations that are at the forefront of promoting sustainability in their respective countries and are doing a great job.

Masdar City development
Karl was particularly impressed with this local project, "I was very interested in the designs for the Masdar City Development, which is probably the most high profile sustainable development in the area, if not the world. There are many facets to this whole project but I was particularly interested in the plans for the new city and the design approach for the buildings being based on a target for Zero Carbon".

Situated 17km from downtown Abu Dhabi, Masdar City is a high-density, pedestrian-friendly development where current and future renewable energy and clean technologies are showcased, marketed, researched, developed, tested and implemented.

The city, which at full build out, will house 40,000 residents and hundreds of businesses, will integrate the full range of renewable energy and sustainability technologies across a living and working community. It already has a number of major partners, such as Siemens, GE and Schneider, who have booked their place in this formidable structure.

Local municipality adopting building codes
As part of the drive for energy efficiency in the region it was good to see that the local municipality have adopted building codes. They have decided to use the International Building Codes as published by the International Code Council to improve the construction standards of buildings across the emirate, creating more cost-effective structures with greater durability and higher health and safety standards.

Zayed Future Energy Prize
The Zayed Future Energy Prize came to fruition in 2008 as a result of the vision of the late Ruler of Abu Dhabi and Founding Father of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The annual award celebrates achievements that reflect innovation, long-term vision and leadership in renewable energy and sustainability. It firmly places Abu Dhabi on the map as an exciting, sustainable hub and aims to inspire the next generation of global energy innovators - creating solutions we can barely imagine today. It's without doubt, a prize Woods Hardwick will be following each year.

This is obviously just a selection of highlights that particularly interested Woods Hardwick during the four-day event. There was a vast array of other products, methods and organisations showcasing their merits, some of which, Woods Hardwick will be keeping a close eye on for future partnerships. For more information go to http://www.worldfutureenergysummit.com.

Woods Hardwick is one of the UK's leading multi-disciplinary architectural practices, delivering exceptional, sustainable designs within the residential and commercial arena. To find out more about our full range of services, go to our website http://www.woodshardwick.com or call us at (01234) 268862.