Sustainable city in the desert Desert Utopia Ariana Malik University of Dubai

Demographics Climate Change The desert is already hot, but with global warming the need to develop a modern infrastructure to better accommodate a desert region has to be developed. Siemens can take advantage of the abundance of sunlight in the desert to build a sustainable city, and therefore aim to slow global warming. With increased number of birth rates; a growing population has growing needs for water, electricity, transportation and residence. The need to develop all these in a sustainable manner is what is needed for society to prosper. The majority of the population in the middle east desert region are youth, and with these new technologies to develop a sustainable city, jobs, education, research and training possibilities would increase. Any the society would benefit.

Urbanization With more and more people living in cities, cities are growing. And population and demand for means of survival are increasing. We need the right technology to develop a city framework in the desert. As well as being modern and ecofriendly.

Globalization In a global society, where there is an integration of traditions and cultures and trade is increasing a city framework in the desert that is modern and of the highest global standards has to be created.

So what is the right technology? 3 key Aspects. Ensure a steady, safe supply of drinking water. Provide a reliable source of energy / electricity. Create intelligent buildings.

How to get a safe supply of drinking water? In the desert region fresh water is scarce, but there is a surplus of salt water in the neighbouring ocean bodies. The technology needed to treat seawater is desalination, but not just any desalination, desalination costs lots of money, and lots of energy. The combination of “Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer solar cell “and “Nano scale membranes ” aids in the process of desalination to make it more effective.

HIT solar panels Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer solar cell is composed of a mono thin crystalline silicon wafer surrounded by ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers. The desert is rich with sunlight, these solar panels can be used to supply energy to the city as well as to the desalination plant.

Hit “n” series (Developed by Sanyo)

Nano scale Membranes The new membrane use a uniquely cross-linked matrix of polymers and engineered nanoparticles designed to draw in water ions but repel nearly all contaminants. These new membranes are structured at the Nano scale to create molecular tunnels through which water flows more easily than contaminants.

Why this technology? HIT Solar Panels Nano Scale Membranes Reduce power generation losses More capacity in limited area High performance at high temperatures Has the world's highest energy conversion efficiency rate of 21.6 percent so far.. Lower installation costs Repel organics and bacteria Less energy is needed to pump water through the membranes Less expensive Twice the productivity

For Energy Production? HIT Solar Panels Wind turbines These solar panels have the potential to deliver large amounts of energy if fields of these solar panels were placed across the desert, and research and development to better develop this technology , I believe we could build a sustainable city in the desert. Wind turbines The desert region is also abundant with wind, especially at night, placing wind turbines off the desert coast, will provide a sustainable energy source, offshore is better than onshore because wind can be created by tides and therefore offer more energy, and less noise pollution can be heard.

intelligent buildings In today’s world, in a sustainable city, what is needed, is to make spacious apartment buildings that are modern and ecofriendly. To do this we need to build buildings with super insulation, super doors and windows, to cool quickly when needed or warm quickly when needed. The need for energy would reduce as there would be more efficiency. “Transparent Thin Film Solar Material and “Fullerenes” technology is a new material Its keynote is the use of “fullerenes”, which are molecules composed of 60 carbon atoms, shaped roughly like a soccer ball. Fullerines have the ability to assemble themselves into a honeycomb-like pattern of hexagons. When they are applied to a polymer they end up pushing the polymer chains to the edges of the hexagons, and that makes the resulting material transparent.” These “solar panels” can be applied to windows to be the main supply of energy for the buildings. They are also transparent and can be used in any modern architecture, without looking unpleasent.

Thin Film Solar Material Trees could be planted all over the city, and around these buildings to become a green city ..a Desert Utopia Thin Film Solar Material

References: http://theenergycollective.com/christine-hertzog/61056/smart-buildings-smart-grid-need- smart-policy http://nanotechnologytoday.blogspot.com/2006/11/nanotech-water-desalination- membrane.html http://directoryofdubai.com/articleshub/most-productive-spots-for-wind-turbines-in-order- 820.html http://www.go-green.ae/greenstory_view.php?storyid=1643 http://solar.sanyo.com/hit.html