Nearly 650GWh of electricity savings has been recorded by the use of district cooling in Dubai in 2020, which is in excess of the annual savings target of 420GWh, participants heard at a meeting of the Association of District Cooling Operators Dubai.

The third meeting of the association that focused on some of the industry's pressing issues, most notably the adoption of innovation and modern technologies in providing the environmentally friendly district cooling services to over 3.3 million population of Dubai.
 
Ahmad bin Shafar, Chairman of the Association and CEO of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), presided over the meeting in the presence of Ahmed Butti Al Muhairbi, Association's Secretary General, and the Secretary General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE).

The meeting was attended by the members of the association, including Emaar District Cooling, Emirates District Cooling LLC (Emicool), National Central Cooling Company PJSC (Tabreed), Al-Futtaim Engineering, South Energy and Meydan, besides the DSCE and Regulatory and Supervisory Bureau (RSB) Dubai.

In addition to discussing ways to increase operational efficiency, the attendees agreed on the need to unite efforts and energies to enhance the industry's performance locally and globally. The meeting highlighted the importance of such endeavours with the UAE's district cooling market is ranked among the world's largest markets with a capacity of more than 3 million refrigeration tons (RT),compared to nearly700,000RTof the US market. The attendees further pledged to put in force the implementation of the recently promulgated Executive Council Resolution (ECR 6) of 2021 on District Cooling.

Bin Shafar highlighted that an innovation approach and adopting cutting-edge technologies have become inevitable to improve the performance of the sector, particularly aspects related to rationalizing energy consumption, protecting natural resources and reducing carbon footprint.

He also explained that as part of its keenness to preserve natural resources, the Association has formed a sub-committee to coordinate with government agencies, most notably the Dubai Municipality, with the aim of reaching a consensual vision on increasing the use of recycled water in district cooling operations.

The Association of District Cooling Operators Dubai, region’s first association of its kind, was formed in October 2020 by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) with the aim of raising the efficiency of district cooling operations, promoting the optimal use of water and energy resources, coordination and cooperation among operators to meet challenges and find effective solutions to them, in addition to ensuring the provision of high-quality cooling services to Dubai residents. – TradeArabia News Service