The tropical island of Upolu is about as far as it is humanly possible to travel from Abu Dhabi. Deep in the Pacific Ocean and part of Samoa, the island is more than 17,000 kilometres from the capital of the UAE.
It is where Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, lived out his last days, and is the inspiration for characters from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific.
But when darkness falls and the crickets begin their incessant chirp amid the coconut palms and dense rainforest, it is the UAE many of the 140,000 inhabitants have to thank for the lights going on.
It is a little more than 10 years since Masdar Energy Services completed a wind farm on the island. Two wind turbines, each 55 metres tall, deliver 1,500 megawatt-hours of power each year. It saves the island’s economy $475,000 (Dh1.74 million) annually in fuel and reduces its annual carbon footprint by more than 1,000 tonnes.
Crucially, in a region frequently hit by potentially devastating cyclones, the wind farms' innovative technology means the towers can be lowered quickly to the ground if a storm approaches.
Illuminating projects
The Upolu wind farm, opened in 2014, was the second project completed under the UAE-Pacific Partnership fund, whose aim is to unlock “significant economic and social benefits across the region”, said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and chairman of Masdar.
The fund, worth $50 million and backed with grant financing from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) supports renewable energy projects in 11 Pacific island nations.
The first, in Tonga, was the La'a Lahi (Big Sun) solar plant, which now supplies 17 per cent of the island’s electricity. In the first phase, solar power farms were also built on Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.
The second phase includes the Solomon and Marshall Islands and Nauru. In Palau, a collection of more than 250 islands with a population only 21,000, a hybrid plant also includes a water treatment system.
Isolated by sometimes thousands of kilometres of ocean, all these countries face costly energy imports, up to 10 times higher than elsewhere. Renewable energy is seen as a way of reducing the financial burden and cutting carbon emissions.
All the projects were developed by Masdar, based on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi. Set up in 2006, Masdar’s focus is on renewable energy, and is part of the UAE’s diversification strategy from oil and gas.
To date, Masdar’s reach extends over six continents and more than 40 countries. In the UK, the London Array in the Thames Estuary is one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms, supplying electricity to half a million homes.
The Sheikh Zayed Solar Power Plant in Mauritania supplies 10 per cent of the country’s grid capacity, while Egypt’s Benbah plant, the largest in Africa, powers one million homes.
In Morocco, smaller home solar-power systems supply more than 19,000 homes and 1,000 villages in remote rural areas, which previously had no access to electricity. In southern Afghanistan, Masdar has connected more than 500 homes in two dozen villages as well as schools and clinics that were previously off-grid.
Uzbekistan’s Zarafshan wind farm will be the biggest in Central Asia, but with concerns that birds of prey could collide with the spinning turbine blades. As a solution Masdar will use artificial intelligence to identify hawks in danger and switch off the turbines until they leave the area.
In total, Masdar estimates its global projects are producing enough power for 5.25 million homes and reduced carbon emissions each year equal to taking 6.5 million cars off the roads.
And for the people of Opulu, as the hits from South Pacific tell, each sunset really does bring some enchanted evening and happy talk.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
INVESTMENT PLEDGES
Cartlow: $13.4m
Rabbitmart: $14m
Smileneo: $5.8m
Soum: $4m
imVentures: $100m
Plug and Play: $25m
match info
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 37')
Atletico Madrid 1 (Costa 39')
Man of the match Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao)
Results:
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah (PA) | Group 2 | US$55,000 (Dirt) | 1,600 metres
Winner: AF Al Sajanjle, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
7.05pm: Meydan Sprint (TB) | Group 2 | $250,000 (Turf) | 1,000m
Winner: Blue Point, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Firebreak Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Muntazah, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
8.15pm: Meydan Trophy Conditions (TB) | $100,000 (T) | 1,900m
Winner: Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm: Balanchine Group 2 (TB) | $250,000 (T) | 1,800m
Winner: Poetic Charm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (D) | 1,200m
Winner: Lava Spin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,410m
Winner: Mountain Hunter, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
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The%C2%A0specs%20
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Squads
Australia: Finch (c), Agar, Behrendorff, Carey, Coulter-Nile, Lynn, McDermott, Maxwell, Short, Stanlake, Stoinis, Tye, Zampa
India: Kohli (c), Khaleel, Bumrah, Chahal, Dhawan, Shreyas, Karthik, Kuldeep, Bhuvneshwar, Pandey, Krunal, Pant, Rahul, Sundar, Umesh
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Ten10 Cricket League
Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17
Teams
Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad
Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider
Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider
Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah
Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
RESULTS
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T10 Cricket League
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
December 14- 17
6pm, Opening ceremony, followed by:
Bengal Tigers v Kerala Kings
Maratha Arabians v Pakhtoons
Tickets available online at q-tickets.com/t10
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
