Manama: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: Experts on Wednesday examined how district cooling, demand-side optimization, and integrated infrastructure solutions can support Bahrain’s National Energy Strategy, enhancing efficiency, sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint.
During a half day event, experts discussed district cooling as a proven large-scale solution that can reduce electricity consumption, improve energy performance, ease pressure on the grid during peak periods, and support Bahrain’s broader energy transition objectives.
Sustainability Forum Middle East (SFME), in partnership with Tabreed Bahrain and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), on Wednesday hosted a high-level roundtable on “Accelerating Energy Efficiency Delivery under Bahrain’s National Energy Strategy” at the Wyndham Grand Manama Hotel, Kingdom of Bahrain.
The session brought together senior representatives from multilateral organisations, government entities, utilities, developers, and financial institutions to examine how Bahrain can accelerate the implementation of energy efficiency objectives as part of its broader energy transition agenda.
The roundtable commenced with two fireside chats featuring Lily Riahi, Head – Buildings and Cooling Unit, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Antonio Di Cecca, Chief Operating Officer at Tabreed, moderated by Pablo Avogadri, Partner and Director – Energy, BCG.
In line with the work of UNEP’s Cool Coalition, the first discussion explored the growing importance of sustainable cooling and energy efficiency within climate action and energy security strategies, as well as the role of the Coalition in advancing international collaboration and practical implementation pathways for sustainable cooling solutions. The second fireside chat focused on regional energy efficiency trends and the role of district cooling in reducing electricity demand, lowering peak load pressures, and improving overall system efficiency.
A panel discussion, moderated by Lukas Jochem, Project Leader at BCG, followed examining how Bahrain can accelerate energy efficiency delivery through policy, planning, investment, and infrastructure solutions with participation of Ali AlRumaihi, Country Manager, Tabreed Bahrain; Mohamed Elfayoumy, General Manager, Bahrain Bay Utilities; Timothy O’Donnell, Head of Master Planning, Bareeq Al Retaj Real Estate Services; Wesam Baqer, Head of Coverage, Wholesale Banking Group, Gulf International Bank; Qahtan Mohammed, Acting Director of Energy Efficiency and District Cooling, Ministry of Electricity and Water Affairs, Kingdom of Bahrain and Hasan Mubarak, Chief of Hazardous Chemicals Management, Supreme Council for Environment, Kingdom of Bahrain.
Across its various sessions, the roundtable also reinforced the view that energy efficiency must be treated as a national delivery priority, requiring close collaboration between government, industry, utilities, developers, financiers, and technology providers. Participants highlighted the role of scalable infrastructure solutions, supportive policy frameworks, and long-term investment approaches in reducing energy intensity, strengthening energy security, and supporting Bahrain’s transition towards a more sustainable and resilient energy future.
