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Masdar City reveals solar tree installation
The tree is designed as an art piece to spark interest in sustainability but will also feed energy into the Abu Dhabi grid via 16 bi-facial solar panels.
The Abu Dhabi sustainability and innovation hub, Masdar City, has revealed a new installation called Solar Tree as its latest eco-friendly addition to its Eco Plaza.
It features 16 bi-facial solar panels that capture sunlight from both sides and has a capacity of 50kwh and feeds energy directly into the Abu Dhabi power grid. It stands at 5.5 metres tall and 10 metres wide.
Renewable energy
Solar Tree mimics a natural tree, with its slender, asymmetric columns and 16 gently curved solar panels, providing a shaded seating area while also producing clean and renewable energy.
It was designed as an art piece to spark public engagement around sustainability practices and is also an example of multi-purpose urban development.
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The placement of Solar Tree was informed by a 2023 heat study of Masdar City. In collaboration with a start-up called FortyGuard, Masdar City collected six million data points using sensors and drones over a period of nine months.
These data points provided a thermal map of Masdar City and Eco-Plaza that identified zones of high heat that needed to be addressed.
It was designed as an art piece to spark public engagement around sustainability practices and is also an example of multi-purpose urban development
Other recent measures to address hot zones in Eco Plaza include new trees, shrubs, and turf, removal of dark paving, and water features.
Earier this year, Masdar City broke ground on the regions first net zero energy mosque. It is designed to use 35 per cent less energy than international baselines due to Masdar City’s focus on passive design, an architectural approach that responds to environmental conditions rather than relying solely on technology.
The mosque will produce at least 100 per cent of its remaining annual energy needs using 1,590m² of on-site PV panels.
The net zero energy mosque will be constructed from rammed earth as a tribute to the very first mosques in this region
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How do bi-facial solar panels improve energy capture efficiency?What role does thermal mapping play in urban heat management?How does passive design reduce energy consumption in buildings?In what ways can solar art installations promote sustainability awareness?How does Masdar City's net zero mosque achieve energy self-sufficiency?Abu Dhabiclimate actionClimate change/ResilienceCultural spaceEnergy & EnvironmentMasdarRenewablessolar power
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