Dubai approves contract management regulations on district cooling

The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) has approved the final stage of laws regulating district cooling in the Emirate of Dubai, Wam reports. The laws aim to ensure contract efficiency between customers and service providers in Dubai’s district cooling sector to ensure cooling energy is produced and distributed at an appropriate cost, according to Dubai Supreme Council of Energy Secretary-General Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi.

The UAE’s district cooling market is growing: The value of the Emirates’ district cooling market stood at some USD 27 mn in 2022, and is expected to grow at a CAGR rate of 7.9% through to 2030, totaling some USD 46 mn by the end of the decade, according to research by consulting firm by P&S Intelligence. The Middle East’s collective district cooling market was valued at more than USD 5 bn in 2021, and is similarly projected to grow at a CAGR of 9% through to 2030, according to Global Market Insights.

What they said: “Regulating the district cooling sector enables the grant of licenses to service providers in line with the regulatory frameworks approved by the council to raise the efficiency of operations and ensure the quality of services provided to consumers in Dubai,” Al Muhairbi said.

Significant projects have kicked off this year: Emirates Central Cooling Systems (Empower) signed an agreement with real estate developer Sobha Realty to provide district cooling services for eight of Sobha Harland’s buildings in Dubai last month. The firm will extend its distribution network to supply 17k refrigeration tons (RT) of cooling capacity from its nearby Meydan station. Earlier in February, Empower invested USD 122 mn to provide 63k RT of cooling capacity to the Dubai Maritime City project, its first signed project after the company was IPO’ed on the Dubai Financial Market in November.