Sun

The brand new Zayed University campus on the Al Ain Road is nearing completion, more or less. It's an absolutely massive building in the middle of the desert, with large covered-over "outdoor" areas with water features and plants and cool places to relax. The whole thing --indoors and out--is air-conditioned beyond the freezing point.

Can anyone tell me why then, in a country with abundant sunshine and in an institution that prides itself on being progressive, they did not design the campus to use solar power? It seems to me that they missed a huge opportunity to set an example to the rest of the city, as an institute of higher learning should. And I hear the electric bills are higher than the entire rent on their last campus. Besides, using the plenteous sunshine for cheap energy and selling the precious and soon-to-be-scarce oil to the foreigners who will pay top dollar for it would have made such a lot of economic sense. Surely a little forethought and additional expense in the construction would have paid off handsomely in so many ways for years to come?