Dubai Supreme Council of Energy 39th meeting reviews district cooling regulation

Dubai, UAE, 13 March 2016: HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy has chaired the 39th meeting of the council at its headquarters. HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Supreme Council of Energy, attended the meeting. 

The meeting also saw the participation of HE Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Energy, in addition to members of the board Abdullah bin Kalban, MD & CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium, Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), Abdallah Abdul Karim, Director General of the Department of Oil Affairs, Salem bin Mesmar, Assistant Director General for Environment, Health & Safety at Dubai Municipality, Waleed Salman, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Nuclear Energy Committee, Nasir Abu Shehab, Executive Director of Strategy and Corporate Governance in the Roads and Transport Authority, Keiron Ferguson, General Manager of the Dubai Supply Authority (DUSUP) and Frederick Chemin, General Manager of Dubai Petroleum.

“In support of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai in to an international hub for clean energy and green economy, the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy is working towards the implementation of the energy Demand Side Management strategy, which features nine programmes that contribute to the sustainable development of Dubai. 

These include the rules and regulations for green buildings, the rehabilitation of existing buildings, district cooling, regulations and standards for energy efficiency, reuse of wastewater for use in irrigation and technology to raise the efficiency of street lighting, and the Shams Dubai Initiative to transform Dubai into the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world,” said Al Tayer.

“During the meeting, we developed a strategy to organise Dubai’s district-cooling sector. This aims to improve the performance of operations, and enhance the amount of investments in this promising market from 20% to 40% by 2030,” added Al Tayer.

“The meeting highlighted Dubai’s Energy Intensity Mapping project, which focuses on making use of Dubai’s building and energy consumption data to find methods of analysing consumption levels, limiting Dubai’s overall energy consumption, and finding solutions to limit high consumption. This supports the demand side management strategy to reduce overall demand by 30% by 2030,” said Al Muhairbi.

The meeting also addressed the implementation of detailed studies to save water through the re-use of water for irrigation, as well as defining potential opportunities, and developing an integrated strategy for Dubai’s water supply.

Nasir Abu Shehab, Executive Director of Strategy and Corporate Governance at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), talked about the RTA’s plan to convert 50% of Dubai’s Taxi fleet to hybrid cabs by 2021, to support Dubai’s plan to reduce energy consumption. 

DEWA’s Health and Safety department presented guidelines and samples, setting a benchmark for organisations who work in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Energy.