This is a very interesting article about the Masdar Initiative in Abu Dhabi. Here is my favourite bit,

“We have decided to establish the Silicon Valley of renewables in Abu Dhabi,” says Al Jaber. “We want to cover the whole value chain - from research to labs to manufacturing to the deployment of technologies.”
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But he says he sees no irony in one of the world’s biggest oil-exporting nations going green. The bottom line: it’s all about power and markets.

“Abu Dhabi recognizes that the global energy markets are evolving and are evolving with substantial growth in alternative energy,” Al Jaber says. “It’s only going to go up. Does that make it a threat or an opportunity? It’s a great opportunity if we invest in it now.”
"It's all about power and markets," compare that attitude with SA's - let's build more coal burning plants.

They have an aggressive forward thinking plan to remain in control of the energy market. Seems pretty smart to me.