COOLING THE MASSES WITHOUT COOKING THE PLANET

Across the Middle East and Asia, cooling is, ironically, an extremely hot topic these days. Climate change is real, and it affects everyone, everywhere, driven mainly by carbon emissions that, despite decades of talking, debate, and pledges for action at the highest levels of government worldwide, are at their highest ever level.

By Colin Sangster, Senior Vice President, Tabreed

Published in Hot Cool, edition no. 8/2024 | ISSN 0904 9681 |

What does this have to do with cooling, though? Well, everything. Because cooling is, paradoxically, a huge contributor to global warming.

According to the International Energy Association (IEA), cooling is responsible for 10% of the world’s electricity consumption, and in the Middle East, it rises to approximately 70%; much of that power still being generated by burning fossil fuels. Cooling really matters!

The Vicious Cycle of Cooling and Warming

So, we’ve ended up in the most vicious of cycles: the hotter the planet gets, the more cooling we need to survive, consuming ever more energy, causing higher global temperatures, and driving demand for more cooling. It’s an ever-intensifying and hopeless cycle of despair. Cooling isn’t a luxury anymore – it’s essential for billions of people across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. In India and Southeast Asia, the demand for cooling is surging unprecedentedly.

What Is District Cooling?

District cooling isn’t new tech. In brief, it’s ‘just’ a centralised plant supplying chilled water to entire neighbourhoods via vast networks of underground, insulated pipes. And here’s the best bit: through its unmatched reliability and economies of scale, it consumes up to 50% less energy than conventional cooling methods . Imagine how this can relieve the burden on the region’s already stretched electricity sector.

Advocating for Sustainable Urban Cooling

Tabreed is spending increasing amounts of time engaging with Asian developers, urban planners, policy makers and government representatives, so they seriously consider designing district cooling networks into their projects at the outset. District cooling is the solution to keeping our cities cool and is thereby a significant contributor fighting climate change.

The Challenge of Inefficient AC Units

In India, sales of individual AC units have skyrocketed in recent years as household incomes and temperatures have risen. And while that’s good news for health and workplace productivity, the majority of these units are inefficient and more likely to leak refrigerant, which only exacerbates the problem being fought in the first place.

Tabreed recently joined forces with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to actively target expansion across India and Southeast Asia, and it’s beginning to pay off as we see more and more district cooling projects in the region.

Innovation at Work: Geothermal Cooling in Masdar City

One of Tabreed’s latest projects has caused a huge spike in global interest: G2COOL, Tabreed’s new district cooling plant in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, powered by geothermal energy. It literally turns hot water into chilled water and now supplies 10% of the community’s cooling needs using clean, renewable energy from deep underground. This is one example of how innovation in the industry can have huge impacts on our environment – and there are many more.

A Global Responsibility to Combat Climate Change

This is about more than a single region or continent; what each of us does impacts everyone everywhere. The goal of limiting the planet’s overall temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is perhaps unattainable. But that should only sharpen our collective resolve to do whatever is in our power to mitigate climate change.

Keeping our homes and workplaces cool has never been more important, but we must adopt a more sustainable, long-term approach to an issue that affects us right now. District cooling is not the only answer, but it’s undoubtedly a key player in solving a growing global issue.