The Abu Dhabi City Municipality, 18 Jan 2016:
The Abu Dhabi City Municipality (ADM) and Al Ain Municipality are taking part in the World Future Energy Summit kicked off yesterday (Monday) from Abu Dhabi where the civic bodies would be showcasing a number of leading projects related to energy management as part of the vision of the municipal system to ensure superior living and sustainable development for Abu Dhabi residents. The importance of the event is highlighted by the accelerated development witnessed by the Emirate, which requires effective response to all environmental issues, and establishing sustainability values in all projects. The Summit is viewed as the most prominent global forum for promoting the development of renewable energy, efficient energy consumption, and water & waste management technologies.
Through taking part in this Summit, the municipal system is seeking to share information and expertise about sustainable solutions of future energy, conserving the environment, and boosting partnerships and communication opportunities between the Municipalities and participants including experts of alternative, safe and renewable energy as well as decision makers, investors, scholars, specialists and academicians. These experts are gathering under Abu Dhabi’s Summit to discuss the challenges of increased demand for energy, and procedures capable of ensuring a cleaner and more sustainable future for the world. The municipal system in Abu Dhabi is working tirelessly to upgrade projects, work out solutions, and raise the awareness about conserving the environment, considering a key element of sustainable development for serving humans and the community in Abu Dhabi Emirate and the UAE in general.
Through the stand of the Department of Municipal Affairs, the Abu Dhabi City Municipality will showcase the Energy Efficiency Management System Project, whereas Al Ain Municipality will exhibit the Energy Management System in Municipal Buildings together with the Implementation of Sustainable Procurement Policy Project in Contractual Operations.
The Energy Efficiency Management System Project is a series of procedures and techniques developed by the Municipality with the aim of ensuring efficient and sustainable management of energy in all municipal facilities and activities to ensure continual improvement, and diffuse the awareness about power use amongst all employees.
The System is based on several principles highlighted by developing strategies for designing and maintaining energy-efficient buildings, selecting the systems optimizing the use of energy, using efficient tools and strategies for controlling energy resources, designing a comprehensive approach to ensure that architectural elements and system engineering are working effectively, developing plans & initiatives aimed at the optimal saving of consumption, and improving efficiency and sustained improvement of energy management system.
The system aims at contributing to realizing the objectives of the government in diversifying energy sources, achieving 7% of alternative & renewable resources, reducing carbon footprint resulting from fuel consumption, reducing waste and saving on the costs of consumable energy, enhancing the security of water & energy, improving sustainable development through playing a leading role, charting out a structure for integrating the efficient use of energy in corporate practices, and improving the consumption of energy consumable resources. Objectives also include carrying out benchmarks & measures, documenting, reporting and improving energy efficiency management system along with its potential impacts on reducing greenhouse gases emissions, transparency & communication in managing energy resources, assessing & setting priorities of new energy-saving technologies, and charting out a structure for boosting the efficiency of using energy in various aspects of the supply chain.
The energy efficiency management system comprises a number of projects such as the power generation from solar energy project in the premises of the ADM. The project contributed to realizing the objectives of the government in diversifying energy resources, and producing 7% of alternative and renewable energy resources such as the solar energy panels in the premises of the ADM and others as well as the lighting manual of Abu Dhabi Emirate project which covers the smart lighting strategy aimed at saving up to 85% of energy consumption needs. It also includes the first internal roads lighting system conforming 100% to the specifications of the Department of Municipal Affairs, transforming lighting in all internal roads at Yas Island to LED system, revamping lighting of Sheikh Zayed Bridge to LED lights, introducing smart lighting systems in pedestrian bridges of Abu Dhabi Island, and implementing smart lighting systems at the entire Mushrif Park. All lighting systems at Al Maria Island are based on LED lighting technologies, and modern lighting is also fitted to Sheraton tunnel; resulting in 77% power saving and 95% maintenance savings. Energy saving projects are also highlighted by the Emirati District using solar cells according to the specifications of the ADM.
According to the Municipality, the energy efficiency management system in buildings, which is undertaken in participation with Al Ain City Municipality within the DMA’s stand, aims at implementing a comprehensive system for ensuring efficiency of energy in buildings through a number of applications including the application of energy efficiency management system standards ISO 50001, developing work procedures, manuals and standards. It also involves educating employees, visitors and contractors, reducing power consumption through saving water consumption, smart maintenance program of assets, and implementing building sustainability program through rehabilitation of buildings.
As part of the implementation of the Energy Efficiency Management System ISO 50001, the Municipality has taken several steps such as using energy-saving and sustainable design for projects, services, activities, tools and facilities, as well as green purchasing of materials, equipment, services and vital resources, following up, auditing, and analyzing all changes that the Municipality could implement to rationalize our consumption of energy resources. The civic body has also developed remedial, corrective and preventive plans for all the points mentioned in the audit or non-conformity points found during the energy audit process, besides issuing consumption estimates in upcoming years until 2016, identifying all applicable improvement points and periodic update of all records related to energy efficiency management system, assigned objectives and work plans to be implemented by each entity that intends to review energy consumption in all its activities, facilities, tools and services, and defining geographic borders of energy efficiency management system.
As regards upgrading business processes, manuals, and standards, the energy performance has been reviewed, all energy resources have been identified, energy consumption during the past 3 years as well as current consumption has been calculated, future consumption until 2016 had also been estimated, besides identifying all improvement areas, issuing periodic updates of all records of energy efficiency management system, and launching awareness programs targeting 757 employees and a large number of visitors, and contractors.
Concerning water consumption conservation, the Municipality has made giant strides such as saving water by installing sensor-equipped self-closing taps which reduce consumption by 50%, and conducting a study on the mechanism of reducing energy consumption by reducing water consumption. The study revealed that water pumps installed in buildings consume approximately 9% of building energy consumption.
Energy saving measures taken by the ADM include a plan implemented since 1/1/2010 as part of building projects in order to step up the efficiency of employees and maintaining assets through rehabilitation processes including water saving through using water mixers fitted with control sensors which will save about 50% of consumption, saving energy by using LED lighting systems, replacing split air-conditioning units by FCU and AHU systems, using Chiller central air-conditioning system with District Cooling system (Tabreed Company), replacing glazed building facades with double glazing to reduce temperature and the need for A/Cs, allowing for natural light to come through, and using the electronic maintenance system (CMMS) to maintain assets & equipment and ensure that they give highly efficient performance.
The ADM had also taken several steps in implementing buildings sustainability program through rehabilitation processes & policies aimed to control and reduce power consumption such as setting the temperature of water heaters to 40 degrees Celsius, disconnecting electric power from water heaters during summer till the end of October, tasking guards to monitor offices and switch off A/Cs and lights after the working hours, and installing lighting control sensors in Level 4 and 5 of the Head Office building as an initial phase.