June 1, 2022 — Abu Dhabi, UAE, Business News: The second edition of Retrofit Tech Abu Dhabi Summit began today, with over 200 high-level decision makers from the energy efficiency, sustainability and retrofitting sectors.
The summit, which was officially hosted by the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy and co-hosted by Abu Dhabi Energy Services (ADES), a subsidiary of TAQA Group, took place under the theme of unleashing Abu Dhabi’s sustainability potential through retrofitting existing buildings, implementing energy efficiency initiatives and renewable energy integration, in line with the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative.
Proceedings opened with discussions on the theme of energy efficiency and retrofitting strategies for achieving Abu Dhabi’s energy goals. This included keynote speeches from Eng. Mohamed Al Hadhrami, Energy & Water Efficiency Accelerators Directorate of Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, and Khalid Al Qubaisi, Chief Executive Officer of ADES.
Mohamed Al Hadhrami spoke about the Abu Dhabi Demand Side Management and Energy Rationalisation Strategy 2030, which targets a 22% reduction in electricity consumption and a 32% reduction in water consumption by 2030. “The Retrofit Tech Abu Dhabi Summit returns for a 2nd edition, giving all entities involved an opportunity to look back at the milestones we have achieved and discuss the way forward. Building Retrofits is one of the key programmes under the Abu Dhabi Demand Side Management and Energy Rationalisation Strategy 2030, where the goal is to activate the government Building Retrofit Programme and the private ESCO market to achieve an overall building consumption reduction of electricity (30%) and water (5%) through the adoption of energy/water conservation measures,” he said.
“With clear environmental and efficiency objectives in mind, the DoE is constantly looking to collaborate with partners from across the energy and water sectors, among others, to implement these goals, in line with the emirate’s vision and the UAE Net Zero by 2050 initiative,” Al Hadhrami added. “Such efforts, combined with strategic partnerships with key government entities and private-sector stakeholders will help establish and grow a local market for energy efficiency services, allowing us to fulfil our mandate to spearhead the green transition in Abu Dhabi, and enhance the energy and water sector’s contribution to the emirate and the country’s sustainable economic development.”
In his keynote presentation, Khalid Al Qubaisi showcased the progress made by ADES in terms of active projects in the implementation phase. He commented: “The increasing demand for efficient energy consumption in existing buildings has put us in the perfect spot – to connect building owners in the government and private sector with energy services companies (ESCOs) by funding and overseeing energy efficiency projects in Abu Dhabi.”
He added: “In alignment with the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, today we released the RFP for retrofitting over 30 government buildings – a key milestone aiming to improve consumption efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of these buildings. The project will increase the number of buildings to be retrofitted by ADES to more than 60, and further cement our position as the energy services market maker and a catalyst for the building retrofits program in the Emirate in line with Abu Dhabi’s Demand Side Management and Energy Rationalisation Strategy 2030.”
Later in the morning, key stakeholders from the DOE and ADES were joined by QCC and Provis representatives in an executive panel discussion, focused on making Abu Dhabi’s energy visions a reality. The discussion gave insights into the role each stakeholder is playing in achieving Abu Dhabi’s energy efficiency goals and discussed avenues for collaboration and involvement of the private sector, ESCOs and consultants to ensure these goals are met.
Discussions on lighting and HVACR retrofits and net-zero energy buildings rounded out the busy first day of programming, with sessions tomorrow looking at large-scale and infrastructure retrofits and financing and incentivising retrofit projects.
The Summit is organised by Advanced Conferences & Meetings (ACM). The summit’s Lead Sponsors are Teknoware and Netix, with other innovative technology and solution providers including Siemens, Knauf, Farnek, Green Optima, Belimo, Nashwan, DC Serve, Zoho IoT, Ledvance, Daikin, facilio, Johnson Controls, Enova, KEO, and Engie also supporting the initiative.
