Nezar: Significant evolutions.

District cooling, which is now a QR8bn market but expected to grow exponentially, has the potential to save at least 40% of Qatar’s energy, according to a study.
Moreover, tri-generation (combined cooling, heat and power) and renewables including solar energy and bio fuels could further reduce 75% primary energy compared to electric district cooling, said a paper presented by Qatar Project Management at the annual district cooling conference held recently.
A consortium led by QPM and the German Aerospace Center has proposed a new solution featuring solar power to drive a large scale outdoor solar cooling, which can revolutionise how countries in hot weather zones approach sustainability in the energy and water-intensive district cooling sector.
“District cooling is an important technology which is seeing significant evolutions in recent years to deliver greater energy efficiency and reduce the impact on the environment,” Salah Nezar, QPM’s Corporate Social Responsibility director, said.
District cooling is essential to increasing energy efficiency, human well-being and reducing the carbon foot print of campuses, hospitals, districts, cities and overall countries, he said. The district cooling market in Qatar is worth around QR8bn, with more in the pipeline to meet the demands of new development projects around the country, QPM said.
The industry’s cooling capacity — measured in tonnes of refrigeration (TR) — has expanded significantly in recent years, rising from 25,700TR in 2007 to around 485,000TR in 2014, according to official data from Kahramaa. This figure is expected to rise to 2.4mn TR in 2022.
According to official statistics, the equivalent energy demand in 2022 for a conventional air-cooled chiller will be 4,021MW (mega watt) whereas the electricity demand for equivalent district cooling will be 2,129MW — representing a reduction in peak demand of 1,892MW. If 2015 figures are an example, this can lead to significant savings and relief for the country’s maximum load capacity.
Kahramaa confirmed recently that the maximum load in summer 2015 was recorded at 7,070MW in August compared with 6,740MW in 2014, an increase of 5% year-on-year. The proliferation of district cooling can significantly reduce this annual shift, especially when the country’s population grows larger. The energy savings can be tremendous when district cooling is implemented properly. At 1TR hour, district cooling consumes around 0.9KWh (kilowatt hour), significantly less than the 1.7KWh used by air-cooled chillers and the 2KWh needed for window units.
This can be of immense significance in a country such as Qatar that is building its economy to meet global economic ambitions, QPM said.
Capital costs as in many such projects can be large, but should be considered in a long-term context of energy efficiency, resource utilisation and overall systemic sustainability, Nezar said, adding it should be a planned aspect of any district cooling project, where the benefits soon reward the investment.
District cooling also has numerous environmental benefits including the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by about 50%. Following government directives that have been in place since 2013, district cooling in Qatar is transitioning from the use of potable water for cooling to using treated sewage effluent in a bid to reduce the use of desalinated water resources and eventually eliminate them altogether.
On the proposed outdoor solar cooling, Nezar said it could be an entirely rebranded outdoor environment in the region during the hot summer months, which makes it more appealing for the local community to experience open air activities during the harsh summer months.