Clean energy buses to roam Abu Dhabi’s streets
MENA region shows more interest in clean energy
Abu Dhabi gets ready to launch a fleet of environmentally-friendly busess after signing a $30 million joint venture with New Zealand’s DesignLIne and Liberty Automotive company, Arabian Business reported on Saturday.
The clean-energy guzzling busses will have its own factory , which is set to open later in 2011. The new factory is set to be capable of producing over 300 buses a year, and to generate more than $80 million in revenue in the first year of operations.
DesignLine said that a number of Middle Eastern countries were interested in its technology with negotiations underway to convert the Gulf region’s diesel energy powered fleet to either electric or hybrid powered vehicles.
Al Masah Capital this month reported that the MENA region had seen a 5.3 percent increase in green energy usage in 2010 where Abu Dhabi alone built the $19.8 billion Masdar City, a planned city that is buiilt around the concept of clean energy.