Dubai, UAE: Advanced Conferences & Meetings (ACM) has announced holding the 2nd annual RetrofitTech UAE Conference under the patronage of Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), at Park Hyatt Dubai on March 14-15.

The two-day conference, officially supported by the Ministry of Energy in UAE, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Tourism and Etihad ESCO, brought together government authorities, energy consultants, sustainability experts and technology providers, to discuss retrofitting projects, the associated opportunities and the update on UAE’s retrofit programme, the announcement elaborated.

H.E. Saeed Al Tayer

The conference, said ACM, featured keynote addresses delivered by H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA, H.E. Dr Matar Al Neyadi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy – UAE, and H.E. Ahmad Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy.

Two panel discussions on the future of retrofit – Assessing the upcoming challenges and opportunities and Comparing energy retrofit with cost-effective FM solutions – were reportedly held on the first day, with participation from Stephane Le Gentil, Saeed Al Abbar, Francisco Silverio Marques, Faisal Ali Hassan Rashid, James Grinnell, Ivano Iannelli, Jagath Gunawardena, Hassan Younes, Sandrine Le Biavant, Abdulla Al Wahedi, Ali Alsuwaidi and Mick Dalton.

A few of the other presentations, on day one, said ACM, were: Retrofitting for improved energy efficiency and fire safety in UAE buildings; Maximizing your most valuable assets: people, places and technology; How data and software can create value to customers beyond energy efficiency; The role of building retrofits in the COP 21 Paris Agreement; Lighting in energy performance contracting; Better MEP designs for better future energy retrofits; and a presentation by Dubai Tourism on how it will introduce the retrofit programme to the hospitality industry.

The highlights of the second day, reportedly outlined the importance of Dubai’s retrofit programme in relation to its demand side management (DSM) strategy, updates on the rehabilitation of 157 buildings located within the Jebel Ali Free Zone and associated opportunities valued at USD 17.4 million, and a panel discussion on green financing opportunities and challenges, as also involving owners in retrofitting buildings.