By Gerhard Hope
The role of the International District Energy Association (IDEA) in promoting the district heating and cooling industry across the world, including the Middle East, cannot be over-estimated.
This is according to Mike Thompson, environmental director at Trane in the US, who spoke to MEP Middle East in an exclusive interview, while on a recent whistle-stop tour of the region.
With sustainability, resource optimisation and energy efficiency under the global spotlight, IDEA’s Centennial Conference & Trade Show, to be held from 28 June to 1 July in Washington DC in the US, presents an important arena to promote the continued relevance and growing importance of the industry.
“This is a long-term group that has really shaped a lot of the industry, certainly in the US, and now here in the Middle East,” said Thompson. “It is a great group for companies to get together and just share their experiences of what works, what does not work, as well as being a good way for end users of equipment to talk directly with the manufacturers.
“Quite often you get involved in these industry organisations only to find it is hard to talk to anyone, but IDEA is a much more focused grouping bound by a common language. It has had a very positive input into, and influence on, the industry. Its goal is to help the industry get bigger, better and stronger.
“It is important for people to get involved in the industry, so as to ensure it is shaped correctly. We try our best not to let personal or corporate interests get in the way of that. We also try to understand the direction that the industry is moving in, and ensure that companies are aligned with this so that they are able to meet future needs,” said Thompson.
The executive director of the IDEA Chapter in the Middle East is Rita Chahoud from Tabreed.
Read the exclusive interview with Mike Thompson in the July issue of MEP Middle East. Rita Chahoud will be interviewed in the August issue about the IDEA Centennial Conference & Trade Show.
