Relevance: GS III (Energy & Environment) | Source: The Hindu / India Cooling Action Plan
1. The Concept: What is District Cooling?
Imagine air conditioning working like piped gas or tap water. Instead of every office or apartment running its own noisy, power-hungry AC unit, a District Cooling (DC) system provides chilled water to a whole cluster of buildings from one central plant.
- How it works: A central plant chills water and sends it through a network of insulated underground pipes. Inside buildings, this cold water absorbs heat (providing cooling) and then returns to the plant to be chilled again in a closed loop.
- Analogy: It is “Cooling as a Service”—you pay for the cold air you consume, just like a utility bill, rather than buying and maintaining an expensive AC machine.
2. Why it Matters for India
- Energy Efficiency: Large industrial chillers in a central plant are much more efficient than hundreds of small “Split ACs.” It can reduce energy consumption by up to 40%.
- Peak Load Management: These plants can produce ice or chilled water at night (when electricity is cheaper) and store it for use during the day. This prevents power grid failures during extreme heatwaves.
- Combatting Urban Heat Islands: Individual ACs spew hot air directly into the streets. Centralized systems eliminate this “local heating,” helping to lower the overall temperature of the city.
- Climate Goals: It reduces the use of Refrigerants (harmful gases) by up to 80%, helping India meet its international commitments under the Kigali Amendment.
3. Implementation: GIFT City
- Success Story: GIFT City (Gujarat) is India’s first operational district cooling hub. By using this system, it has reduced its electrical demand for cooling from 240 MW to just 135 MW.
- The Challenge: The main barrier is the high initial cost of laying underground pipes, making it most suitable for new “Smart Cities” or dense business districts.
UPSC Value Box
| Concept / Policy | Relevance for Prelims |
| India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) | Launched in 2019, India was the first country globally to develop such a plan. It aims to reduce cooling demand by 20-25% by 2037. |
| Kigali Amendment | An amendment to the Montreal Protocol that targets the phase-down of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—gases used in ACs that cause global warming. |
| Thermal Storage | The ability of a plant to “store” cold energy (as ice or chilled water) during off-peak hours (night) to use during peak hours (day), acting like a battery for cooling. |
Q. With reference to the “India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP),” consider the following statements:
- India was the first country in the world to launch a comprehensive Cooling Action Plan.
- One of its goals is to reduce the cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25% by the year 2037-38.
- It specifically promotes “District Cooling” as a strategy for sustainable urban development.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
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