Enova, one of the Middle East’s leading energy and facilities management specialist, said it has won a retrofit deal from Ras Al Khaimah Municipality to help cut energy and water use by 31 per cent in four of its buildings.

The five-year agreement is the first energy performance contract RAK Municipality has signed and comes as part of its RAK Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Strategy 2040.

As per the deal, Enova will be responsible for the retrofit of the Municipality’s main headquarters, two Health Department buildings, and a slaughterhouse. In total, the structures occupy an area exceeding 10,000 sq m.

Munther Mohammed bin Shekar, Director General of RAK Municipality, said: "Ras Al Khaimah government is engaged in a long-term strategy for sustainability. We welcome the collaboration with Enova and the launch of this first retrofit project for the government to support adoption of new technologies and practices that will reduce energy intensity in several RAK Municipality buildings."

"This is an important first step for the government to achieve the goals set forth in the RAK Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Strategy 2040," he stated.

According to Enova, through the planned retrofit, the project will provide guaranteed total savings of more than 4 gigawatt-hours of electricity over the contract duration, which has an impact on carbon emissions comparable to that of taking nearly 700 cars off the roads.

Additionally, over 8 million imperial gallons of water will be saved during the period, enough to fill 14 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The project’s retrofitting measures focus on the air-conditioning and ventilation system and the ‘building envelope’ – the physical division between the conditioned and the unconditioned environment of a building that enable the building services to maintain acceptable indoor environmental conditions, it stated.

Based on findings from a detailed audit, Enova will implement a series of energy and water conservation measures, such as the optimization of AC units, roof thermal coating and a combined water-saving solution.

For each building, Enova has also proposed a total retrofit of the current cooling apparatus and the implementation of new building management systems, said a top official.

On the contract win, CEO Anne Le Guennec said: “We are proud to help Ras Al Khaimah Municipality achieve its ambitious sustainability objectives, in accordance with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals."

"Through this partnership, we are supporting the authority in making substantial cost savings, while reducing its carbon footprint at the same time,” she remarked.

"Lighting will be retrofitted with energy-efficient LED bulbs and optimized, which will cut the energy consumption of this system in half," stated Le Guennec.

"The emirate’s strategy towards more sustainable and energy-efficient practices is part of a shift we are witnessing from more and more public and private entities in the region. We are excited to contribute to the success of this development and are confident that we can expand our role even further in the future," she added.-TradeArabia News Service