National Central Cooling Company PJSC (DFM: Tabreed), the leading UAE-based international district cooling developerand the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group,are planning to establish a district energy investment platform in Singapore that will invest in district cooling, trigeneration and cooling as a service offering with primary focus on India followed by other South East Asian countries.
The joint venture aims to build on Tabreed’songoing development activities in India following establishment of its wholly owned subsidiary in the country and will seek to provide more energy efficient end to end cooling as a service offering through an outsourced utility model for real estate developments, new urban masterplans and ongoing redevelopments across target cities.
Energy demand in South East Asia is growing twice as fast as the rest of the world. In India,now the world’s third largest energy consuming country, cooling continuesto be thelargest contributor to this growthwith the government’s India Cooling Action Plan forecasting an eight-fold increase in demand through to 2038and the commercial real estate sector alone estimated to add 100 million refrigeration tons in capacity during this period.
Globally, district cooling and heating utilitieshave been providingmorecost-effectivelow carbon pathways for cities to meet their energy needs,also accelerating the transition of green buildings to carbon net-zero buildings. In India however, the cooling as a service marketremains in a relatively embryonic stage due to real estate developers making their ownindividual and variedcooling technology choices,fundingcapex from their balance sheets to thereafter work witha fragmented ecosystem of service providersleavingsignificant headroom forcooling utilities like Tabreed to make inroads todeliver life cycle costs savings, energy efficiency improvements and better cooling service deliverythrough enhanced operations, maintenance and health and safety norms being adopted.
Commenting on this partnership, Bader Saeed Al Lamki, Tabreed’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The size and dynamism of India and other South East Asian countries will keep them at the heart of the global energy system with all roads to a successful global clean energy transition going via India.Sustainable cooling plays a crucial role in materializing this vision.As a global leader increating markets for climate businesses, we are proud to be collaborating with the IFC,who also enjoy a significant advisory and investment presence in the region to help spearhead development of district cooling and broader cooling as a servicemarket.”
For over 22 years, Tabreed has been the partner of choice for organizations seeking environmentally friendly cooling solutions to support their sustainability goals and to reduce their overall energy consumption and carbon footprint. With 86 district cooling plants, Tabreed currently delivers over 1.4 million RT to key developments, including iconic projects such as the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Opera, The Dubai Mall, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Al Maryah Island, Yas Island, the Dubai Metro, the Bahrain Financial Harbour and the Jabal Omar Development in the Holy City of Mecca in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.