Operations for the MENA region’s first geothermal cooling plant located in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City has officially commenced, according to a press release by project co-developer Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). The G2COOL plant will produce chilled water needed by UAE’s National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) for its district cooling activities. The project will be funded under Adnoc’s USD 15 bn allocation towards developing low-carbon power solutions.

How will it work? The plant will extract water from underground wells at temperatures exceeding 90°C and flow rates nearing 100 liters per second. The water will then be rerouted to an absorption cooling system to chill it before sending it to Tabreed’s district cooling network at Masdar City. The geothermal energy project is set to meet 10% of Masdar City’s cooling needs, the statement notes. In August, Adnoc and Tabreed concluded testing on two geothermal wells in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City.

REMEMBER- Adnoc and Masdar are teaming up on geothermal energy production: Back in March, Adnoc signed a five-year agreement with UAE renewables giant Masdar to explore potential investment and development in the geothermal power sector, with Adnoc serving as Masdar’s drilling technical expert. In February, Masdar acquired shares in the geothermal unit of Indonesia’s state-owned energy firm Pertamina, which plans to generate 600 MW of geothermal power by 2028.

The rest of the region is trying to catch up: In October,Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco said it is considering tapping into geothermal energy, with three potential areas on the west coast of the kingdom identified and mapped for the technology. KSA’s Industrialization and Energy Services Company (Taqa) signed a joint venture agreement with Iceland’s Reykjavik Geothermal to establish the Taqa Geothermal Energy Company in Riyadh. Countries across the region including Egypt, Oman, and Jordan are similarly stepping up efforts to tap into the clean energy source.

Tags: