Renewable Energy, Arab Style

If I asked you to guess where the world's first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city would be, what would you guess? Denmark, perhaps, or Japan?

I doubt a country in the Middle East would top your list. But there we have it; Masdar City, on the edge of Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates, will soon be earning that remarkable title. Science and Development Network reports that the entire town will be powered by renewable sources of energy.

It is this distinction, most likely, which allowed Masdar City to beat out places in Austria, Denmark and Germany to serve as headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the first major international agency to be based in the Middle East.

Masdar City is springing up as fast as workers can create it. Construction started early last year and is scheduled to be complete in 2016, by which time it will be home to over 1,500 international organizations. IRENA's headquarters building will be one of the first completed; its staff will move in by 2011.