ADNOC and National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) announced a breakthrough in the first project in the Gulf region to harness geothermal energy for district cooling.
The project, located in Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, is set to decarbonize the cooling of buildings in the community, Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a press statement.
During the testing stage, the geothermal wells produced hot water at temperatures exceeding 90 degrees celsius and flow rates of approximately 100 litres per second.
The statement said the hot water generated by the heat from the wells will now pass through an absorption cooling system to produce chilled water, which will then be supplied to Tabreed’s district cooling network at Masdar City, accounting for 10 per cent of its cooling needs.
Cooling of buildings accounts for the majority of the UAE’s electricity consumption.
The statement noted that district cooling is 50 percent more energy efficient than traditional cooling methods. Leveraging geothermal heat for district cooling operations has the potential to significantly reduce electricity demand for cooling from the grid, helping to decarbonize one of the most energy intensive sectors in the region.
The project is underpinned by ADNOC’s initial 55 billion UAE dirhams allocation towards decarbonization projects and supports the UAE National Energy Strategy, Net Zero by 2050 goals, as well as the Abu Dhabi Climate Change Strategy.
