Masdar City is a new global clean-tech cluster that aims to be one of the world's most sustainable urban development centers, fueled entirely by sustainable power. There are some things about Masdar City that you might not be aware of:

* Anyone can visit Masdar City and explore its various elements to learn more about how a healthy urban society looks and functions. Download the Masdar City mobile app for a convenient self-guided tour.

* It houses The UAE Pavilion and is located in Masdar City. For those who were unable to attend the Expo in Milan in 2015, it has been remodeled and is now the UAE Space Agency's headquarters.

* Masdar's 10 megawatts (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant, which was connected to the grid in 2009, was the first and biggest utility-scale solar PV plant in the Middle East. The plant generates 17,500 megawatt-hours (MWh) of sustainable power per year and offsets 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, equal to eliminating 3,300 cars.

* Masdar City Tech Park is the preferred location for technology, sustainability, and digital economy start-ups. Masdar City's stringent sustainability requirements are met by the eco-friendly cluster of offices, hot tables, and workshops constructed from reusable shipping containers, which have considerably lower incorporated energy costs than typical offices. The Tech Park is also home to the Catalyst, our joint project with BP, which is the MENA region's first sustainability-focused start-up accelerator.

* Masdar City is a few degrees cooler than the rest of Abu Dhabi thanks to its clever architecture. It is because the city's roads are laid out on a southeast-northwest axis to capture the cooling breezes. The road sizes are kept to a minimum and the streets are dotted with buildings that provide street shade.

* The International Renewable Energy Agency selected Masdar City as the location for its headquarters. The complex, which spans 32,064 square meters, is the UAE's first 4 Pearl building, according to the Estidama Pearl Building Rating System. The complex uses 64% less energy than traditional Abu Dhabi office buildings thanks to passive architecture and advanced energy management systems.

* The Estidama Pearl Building Rating System requires Masdar City buildings to receive a minimum 3-Pearl rating (PBRS). They're built to save energy by at least 40% according to ASHRAE requirements and reduce water usage by 40% according to Estidama Pearl Building Rating System baselines. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is a technical organization dedicated to improving the design and construction of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems.

* Masdar City is home to the world's first personal rapid transportation (PRT) system, the Navya – the Middle East and North Africa's (MENA) first automated shuttle, and the region's first electric Eco-bus. Tesla vehicles can also be rented on the spot.

* The Etihad Eco-Residence complex is planned to use 60% less total energy than the industry average, use 40% less drinking water, and recycle over 85% of its construction waste.

* Etihad Airways made history by flying the world's first commercial flight using locally generated jet fuel produced from a salt marsh or beach plant. The historic flight, which flew from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam, marked a significant step forward in the creation of an environmentally friendly alternative to crude oil for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The unique fuel was created in the UAE by the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC), a non-profit organization founded by Masdar Institute, which is a component of Khalifa University of Science and Technology. Salicornia plants, also known as glasswort or pickle grass, were produced on a two-hectare farm in Masdar City called the Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS).