Tabreed, a global leader in district cooling solutions, successfully hosted the first of its series of Regional Workshops in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, titled, ‘Cooling India’s Cities’. The workshop saw a convergence of key stakeholders, government and experts from the energy and cooling sectors, discussing strategies to integrate district cooling and energy solutions into Tamil Nadu's urban planning.
The workshop was held as part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Tabreed India and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's ‘Energy Efficiency Cooling’ programme, jointly implemented with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power. This partnership underscores a shared commitment to accelerating and democratizing district cooling solutions through bilateral exchange, capacity building, knowledge awareness and project development activities.
Speakers included Mr Sudheer Perla, Managing Director of Tabreed Asia and Country Manager of Tabreed India; Nitin Jain, Program Head – EE-Cool, GIZ GmbH, Rahul Agnihotri, Advisor for Clean Cooling Solutions and Building Energy Efficiency, UNEP and District Cooling System (DCS) Committee Member and representatives from the State Planning Commission, DISCOMs, Developers, Consultants, Architects, etc.
Dr. Vijaya Baskar, Member, State Planning Commission, provided insights on the state’s perspective and plans around sustainable cooling. Presentations by Tabreed India’s representatives highlighted potential case studies for District Cooling in Chennai and more broadly Tamil Nadu. While technological research will need to progress, greater focus should be put on enabling commercial and large-scale viability of innovative solutions that integrate solar power, waste to energy plants, city gas distribution networks, and so on.
The event also featured a roundtable that facilitated a dynamic exchange of ideas on the practical implementation of district cooling technologies. Moderated by Sudheer Perla of Tabreed India and Nikhil Kulkarni from C40, the discussion pinpointed opportunities and addressed challenges, focusing on diverse sectoral perspectives to forge feasible solutions for the widespread adoption of sustainable cooling. “The lack of long-term thinking, and siloed approach across the value chain are major challenges we face in the transition to innovative cooling solutions like District Cooling,” added Sudheer Perla, Managing Director, Tabreed Asia.
Rahul Agnihotri, Advisor for Clean Cooling Solutions and Building Energy Efficiency, UNEP and Tamil Nadu District Cooling Steering Committee Member said, “If District Cooling is incorporated into greenfield projects, it will result in more Greenhouse Gas reductions and cost savings due to integrated resource planning and usage. State Planning Commission (SPC) under the guidance of the Environment and Urban Development departments is driving state efforts for district cooling. The SPC has prepared an action plan for large-scale adoption of District Cooling projects at the state level.”