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MASDAR City, the emerging low-carbon cleantech cluster being constructed on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, has activated the first solar cooling system in the Gulf region.
The project, designed to test the viability of using the sun's heat to cool buildings at Masdar City is one of only a handful in the world. Designed and engineered by Masdar, the pilot plant is the only one in the world to combine two different concentrating solar thermal collector technologies in a single system.
If successful, the technology could become a major source of cooling across the 6km city. Solar cooling is ideal for places such as supermarkets and shopping malls and can also be implemented in a central cooling plant configuration, better known as district cooling.
The pilot plant will be operated for approximately two years to test the technology's suitability in the Gulf's climate and weather conditions, and assess the scope of cleaning and maintenance requirements.
