The UAE’s most sustainable office building opened its doors in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City.
 
The building, which houses the new headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), was inaugurated by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs.
 
High-level representatives from around the world and the UAE government attended the inaugural event in Masdar City.
 
The event highlighted the outstanding sustainability characteristics of the Irena building, the first commercial building in the UAE to receive a four-pearl rating for design and construction from the Urban Planning Council through Estidama, the Abu Dhabi certification system for measuring energy, water and carbon efficiency.
 
Irena is one of the newest and fastest-growing intergovernmental organisations in the world, and the first to be headquartered in the Middle East.
 
Located at Masdar City, a sustainable city in the heart of a global hub for energy – Abu Dhabi – Irena is strategically positioned to collaborate with governments worldwide to help them meet their renewable energy goals.
 
The building offers a total floor area of 32,000 sq m and has 1,000 sq m of rooftop solar photovoltaic panels supplying electricity to the building. Its passive design and smart energy management systems enables it to use 42 per cent less energy than global energy-efficiency standards.
 
The new facility is also expected to use 50 per cent less water and 64 per cent less energy than similar commercial buildings in Abu Dhabi.
 
Over the past decade, renewable power generating capacity has increased by 85 per cent, according to Irena, and renewable energy remains the fastest growing energy segment.