RIYADH: King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) has launched a project designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of renewable energies. Specifically, it aims to show how solar thermal technologies can be used in industrial processes, in particular to power cooling systems.

It is part of the second round of an initiative launched by KACARE, under the patronage of its president, Khalid Al-Sultan, to localize renewable-energy technologies and empower the industrial sector in this field.

This project will contribute to efforts to minimize the risks related to the use of solar cooling technology. KACARE shares the costs of bringing the technology to the Saudi market so that it can prove its effectiveness in a real-world project in the Kingdom.

Developer Green Air aims to prove that locally made air conditioning units fitted with photovoltaic solar panels can provide between 70 and 90 percent of the energy needed for cooling. In cooperation with the Engineering Research Center at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, the company will test its technology to prove its effectiveness using direct and indirect evaporative cooling.

This technology is exclusively licensed and locally made, and meets standards set by the US Green Building Council, the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization, and the Electrical Testing Laboratories. The project will be implemented in two locations owned by the National Agricultural Development Company and the United National Dairy Company.