United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi, UAE continues to gain more regional and international recognition as a renewable and sustainable energy center. It is natural to think that Abu Dhabi is heavily dependent on oil and gas production.

Political upheaval in oil producing African and Middle Eastern states could drive the price of gasoline to $5 per gallon this summer in the United States.

Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest of the seven semi-autonomous Middle Eastern sheikdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, seems an unlikely place for a renewable energy push. After all, the tiny emirate is one of O.P.E.C.'s top five oil producers, with as much as 10% of the world's oil reserves by some estimates (most of its crude is exported to energy-hungry Asia).

Adnan Amin, recently appointed interim director of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) outlined some of the agency's top priorities

It’s counterintuitive, but the idea that wind turbines without blades could generate as much energy per square meter as standard wind turbines is based on scientific observation.

An oil-rich Middle Eastern country isn’t the likeliest place to site an international sustainable energy organization. However, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates has become the headquarters for the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Cleantech company, Masdar, based in the green energy-friendly United Arab Emirates, has inked a deal with French energy giant Total (NYSE:&n

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote collaboration on clean and sustainable energy technologies.

The Cleantech Group has ranked the top ten cleantech countries of 2009.

The rankings are based off the Cleantech Group's analysis of world research, development, and usage of clean energy.

The list is as follows:

Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, has announced approval for an agricultural project that will develop biofuel from rotting dates.