Khalid Mohamed Al Qubaisi

 What is ADES’ mandate?

Abu Dhabi Energy Services (ADES) was created in 2020 by our shareholder, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), to deliver on a clear mandate – create, advance and grow the demand side energy efficiency market in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi by targeting building retrofit projects. Since then, ADES developed a tri-pillar strategy: enable the market by financing energy efficiency projects, bridge the gap between government entities and energy services companies (ESCOs), and deliver all-out savings in water and electricity consumption. As a Super ESCO, ADES is mandated to grow the Abu Dhabi ESCO market, creating a market to help the ESCO community identify and implement energy-efficiency opportunities, providing significant benefits and cost savings.

The focus of our coverage centers on the steps being taken across every sector of the UAE’s economy to realize its net zero ambitions. Since the country’s announcement last autumn, how has ADES reoriented its strategies towards this objective?

The announcement of the UAE’s net zero initiative inspired us to cast a wider net by growing our project portfolios to match the UAE’s ambitions and to allow us to capitalize on the momentum created around the announcement of net zero targets.  We also started giving more weight in our project assessments to cut CO2 emissions – a by-product of reducing energy and water consumption, in an effort aiming to further promote environmental sustainability and secure a better future for generations to come.

ADES supports the objectives of the Abu Dhabi Demand Side Management Energy Rationalization Strategy 2030. What is the idea behind this strategy and what is ADES’ role in contributing to it?

Our building retrofits program is a core element of our energy efficiency program. In 2021, ADES continued to be actively engaged with key government building owners to develop a solid pipeline of projects to reduce energy consumption. ADES is mandated with the execution of the Building Retrofits Program of the Abu Dhabi Government Demand Side Management and Rationalization Strategy (DSM) 2030, aiming to further progress the Emirate’s efforts to achieve environmental sustainability, rationalize electricity and water usage and reduce CO2 emissions. By 2030, ADES aims to save 2.7 terawatt hours of electricity and nine million cubic meters of water by working with business and government entities to identify savings opportunities, provide financing and commission projects by selecting the most suitable contractors in the market. These energy efficiency opportunities through retrofitting are paid back through savings in utility bills.

Utilities relies on transformative technologies to become more efficient and cleaner, especially when it comes to retrofitting. What is ADES’ approach to RnD in this regard?

ADES is uniquely positioned as the Super ESCO of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. We play a pivotal role in supporting our clients fulfill their ambitions and commitments towards achieving their ESG targets through our partners in the ESCO community. Each project is exceptional, and savings are conditional to multiple factors, such as the lifetime of installed cooling and lighting systems along with the project’s consumption profile.  Therefore, all our solutions are tailored to the specific requirements of the building to harness the uppermost saving rates. To that end, ADES is a market maker that is technology agnostic that doesn’t favor any technology over another. However, we encourage our contractors to adopt the latest solutions in AI, Internet of Things, and automation to enhance operational efficiency and improve our clients’ experience.

June saw the RetrofitTech Summit took place with ADES playing a leading role. How were you able to leverage on this event?

Hosted by the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy and co-hosted by ADES, the 2^nd installment of RetrofitTech Summit in Abu Dhabi provided a platform for us to engage with peers, organizations and governmental entities. During the summit, we announced the floating of a tender to retrofit over 30 buildings in Abu Dhabi. Currently, this is our 5^th active project in the development and execution phase, and a significant milestone for the company.

Looking ahead, what are ADES goals and expectations for the rest of the year?

The year 2022 saw the unanimous endorsement for the UAE to host COP28 next year. TAQA set out to grow the energy services business, with ADES signing several MoUs and agreements with key Abu Dhabi entities to support retrofitting infrastructure for more efficient electricity and water use. We will continue the dialogue with the various stakeholders involved to establish meaningful partnerships, aiming to reduce consumption and eliminate CO2 emissions across government buildings in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. We are working on delivering more projects to the market and continue building on this momentum to achieve local and national sustainability targets.