The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy expects to achieve 8 to 10 per cent savings in energy demand by 2020, said its secretary general.

Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi was speaking at the recently 10th meeting of the Executive Committee at the Council’s headquarters in Dubai, UAE.

“The Executive Committee of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy is committed to enabling Dubai to achieve the lowest carbon footprint in the world,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, vice-chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy.

“The Demand Side Management Strategy is the first of its kind in the region. It provides new job opportunities for different energy service companies, and other businesses interested in sustainability and efficiency.

“The strategy has nine programmes to manage energy demand. These include green building regulations, retrofitting existing buildings, district cooling, wastewater reuse, laws and standards to raise efficiency, energy-efficient street-lighting, and   Shams Dubai initiative to regulate the generation of solar energy in buildings,” added Al Tayer.

“The Committee discussed the progress in collecting data from 100 buildings in Dubai in cooperation with many stakeholders. Through this initiative, we are analyzing the combined use of electricity and water to formulate a roadmap for energy use in Dubai.

“We also discussed the progress of innovative policy development to speed up the process of the Demand Side Management Strategy. We agreed to form The Green Purchase Committee during the first quarter of 2016 as well. The initiative will organise the purchasing processes for products related to electricity and water for all member companies of the Supreme Council of Energy,” Al Tayer explained.

The Demand Side Management Strategy was launched by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy in June 2013. The Executive Committee of the Council is responsible for implementing it and supporting its member companies.

The energy demand-side management strategy uses enabling mechanisms in line with international best practices and similar programmes implemented globally. These include organisations, capacity-building, public awareness and appropriate policy and regulatory frameworks, information systems and measurement, and suitable funding mechanisms for Dubai. – TradeArabia News Service