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3.6 DISTRICT COOLING ACROSS THE LINE

3.6.1 Introduction 3.6.3 Items discussed during the Workshop

This report presents the general strategy developed by AECOM for THE LINE-wide modules excluding Phase Following the 90% DMP phase, several items related to the district cooling strategy of THE LINE were out-
1, as well as the items discussed during the workshop held in Dubai in October 2023. This report does not lined during the workshop held in Dubai in October 2023 as summarized below :
address all the changes in the strategy related to THE LINE that may be captured at a later stage, as major
planning would be required. • DCP’s capacity and frequency.

• DCP’s locations.

• Pipework strategy and redundancy.

• ETS arrangement and chilled water pipe reticulation within the modules.

• Heat rejection strategy.

• Make-up water and blowdown water strategies.

• Overall resilience in several parts of the district cooling system.

• Electrical supply.

• Thermal Storage.
3.6.2 Abbreviations

Item Description
CCW Condenser Cooling Water
CHW Chilled Water
COP Coefficient of Performance
DCP District Cooling Plant
ETS Energy Transfer Station
HEX Plate Heat Exchangers
IPLV Integrated Part Load Value
TAB 3.6.2 - 1 Standards and Codes

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3.6.4 Service Life of Systems 3.6.5 Standards/Codes

Expected Service Code Description
System Item Comments SBC 501 Saudi Mechanical Code
Life (years)
SBC 601 Saudi Energy Conservation Code
W/C Chillers 20
ASHRAE ASHRAE Fundamentals Version - 2021
Cooling Towers 20 ASHRAE STANDARD 55 Standard 55 Thermal Environmental Conditions For Human Occupancy

Pumps 20-25 ASHRAE STANDARD 62.1 Ventilation For Acceptable Indoor Air Quality

Chilled Water ASHRAE STANDARD 90.1 Energy Standards For Buildings - Commercial
HEX 20-25
Plant ASHRAE STANDARD 90.2 Energy Standards For Buildings - Residential
Thermal Storage Tanks 25 ERD - TA – 011 ( V01 /17) District Cooling Services Supply Code
ERD - TA – 016 (V00/20) Key Performance Indicators Manual for the District Cooling Sector
Valves & Fittings 20-25
NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-001 HDPE piping
Pipework 20-25 NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-010 Carbon Steel Piping
Pumps 15-20 NEOM-NWA-SPC-2021-001 Pipes and fittings
Expected service life of plant item
Seawater Heat exposed to seawater has been NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-017 Gate valve
Valves & Fittings 15-20
Rejection Plant reduced by 5 years as compared to NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-019 Knife gate valve
Pipework 15-20 other systems NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-021 Air valve
Switchboards 25 NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-024 Butterfly valve
Electrical NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-025 Non-return valve
Power Cables 25
NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-027 Flow control valve
Controls & Sensors 15 NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-028 Pressure reducing valve
Instrumentation Cabling 20 NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-029 Pressure sustaining valve
NEOM-NWA-DAT-2021-030 Dismantling joint
TAB 3.6.4 - 1 Service Life of Systems
Notes: NEOM-NWA-SPC-2021-002 Valve Specifications
KSA 2021 Ambient Water Quality
• The above service life is referenced from AIRAH Technical HandVOLUME 2007 and shall be used
NEOM-NEV-STD-501 Interim Standard Sustainability Requirements for the Built Environment
as guide only. The assumed life of a plant item may vary depending on the particular project after
consideration of the operating hours and number of starts per day. NEOM-NEN-TGD-501 Engineering Guideline, HVAC Guide, Equations and Rules of Thumb
ASHRAE Handbook 2019 HVAC Applications
• The service life identified are dependent on regular maintenance being carried out in accordance with
ASHRAE - 2020 HVAC Systems and Equipment
manufacturer’s recommendations.
ASHRAE Std 15 Safety Standard for Refrigeration Systems - 2013.
ASHRAE District Cooling & Heating Guides
TAB 3.6.5 - 1 Standards and Codes

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3.6.6 Assumptions
The following assumptions apply to the design development of the district cooling plant for LINE modules: • Technical floors and basements are cooled based on the following criteria: 235W/m2 for MV/LV rooms,
120 W/m2 for Mechanical rooms/PH/Fire, 350 W/m2 for ICT/TEL and 1300W/m2 for data centers.

• Current cooling demand from each module is calculated based on the GFA dataset from Gensler,
received on the 3rd of May 2023. A population breakdown and occupancy capacity for different assets,
similar to what was adopted in Phase 1, is required. This is to replace the use of standard occupancy 3.6.7 District Cooling Plant Sizing
(m²/person) based on ASHRAE guidelines. Such a change will have a major impact on the cooling load
density (w/m²), and consequently, on plant sizing and DCP frequency.
Design Criteria
• Hot water generation has not been included in the District Cooling plant strategy. All water sourced heat
External Design Criteria
pumps will be provided within the module plantrooms, close to the ETSs. Chilled water return is intended
to be used as a heat source in a heat pump strategy. The development of this design strategy is provided Coastal / Coastal Desert regions – Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
under the water section of the report.

• Diversity factors for each space type, provided in TAB 3.6.4 - 2 has been used for estimating district
Description Value Source
cooling plant capacities serving THE LINE modules. Currently, the diversity factors are assumed in a
conservative manner based on previous project experience and precinct cooling system design. This will Dry Bulb Temperature – Summer (°CDB) 39.2 ASHRAE Climatic Design Conditions 2021
be further modified in later stages following updates to population breakdown figures, operational time Coincident Wet Bulb Temperature –
schedules and energy modelling refinement. 20.8 ASHRAE Climatic Design Conditions 2021
Summer (°WDB)

Diversity Factors DMP Dry Bulb Temperature – Winter (°CDB) 13.1 ASHRAE Climatic Design Conditions 2021
Building level 0.7 Extreme Dry and Wet Bulb Temperature –
Plant level 0.85 45.7/30.9 ASHRAE Climatic Design Conditions 2021
Summer (°CDB/°CWB) in 20 years
Extreme Dry and Wet Bulb Temperature –
• The COP of 6.1 is used for water-cooled chillers and their electrical load demand. 6.8/2.2 ASHRAE Climatic Design Conditions 2021
Winter (°CDB/°CWB) in 20 years
TAB 3.6.7 - 1 External Design Criteria for Comfort Application in Coastal / Coastal Desert Region
• The cooling demand for hyperscale data centres and electrical substations outside THE LINE have been
allowed to the DCP sizing based on the following :
- The cooling load of the Data Centre has been estimated to be equal to its electrical load.
- The cooling load of the substation has been estimated to be 1% of the PSS capacity.
- A cooling capacity of 3MW per Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has been allowed for in the
DCP sizing, assuming that each PSS includes 1 BESS, as per the report ‘’ 20231129 - Marina BESS Concep-
tual Design - Final Report’’.

• The cooling demand for the Southern Spine have been doubled to account for the load of future Northern
Spine.

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Mountain regions – Tabuk Saudi Arabia

Description Value Source

Dry Bulb Temperature – Summer (°CDB) 40.2 ASHRAE Climatic Design Conditions 2021

Coincident Wet Bulb Temperature –

18.4 ASHRAE Climatic Design Conditions 2021
Summer (°WDB)

Dry Bulb Temperature – Winter (°CDB) 3.8 ASHRAE Climatic Design Conditions 2021

Extreme Dry and Wet Bulb Temperature –

45.4/25.5 ASHRAE Climatic Design Conditions 2021
Summer (°CDB/°CWB) in 20 years
Extreme Dry and Wet Bulb Temperature –
-3.1/-5.6 ASHRAE Climatic Design Conditions 2021
Winter (°CDB/°CWB) in 20 years
TAB 3.6.7 - 2 External Design Criteria for Comfort Application in Mountain Region

A local weather file from 2011-2021 has been provide by NEOM which indicates that the maximum
temperature is higher than the ASHRAE prescribed design temperature. We have plotted the average hourly
temperature in June and July from 2017-2021, given in the charts below.

From the local weather file, the average temperature at 12pm in July/July is around 42-43°C DB which is
expected to increase in the future. To address this climatic change, the DCPs will be required to operate at
more extreme conditions and meet greater cooling demand.

With further development, a climate resilience study will need to be performed to determine the expected
change in temperature in next 20, 30 and 50 years. Following the results, the DCP capacities will be further
evaluated which may result in greater number of plant items.

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Internal Design Criteria Internal Load Allowances

Description Value Comments

Summer – Dry bulb temperature (°CDB) 24 ± 1°C
Typically uncontrolled, RH maintained
Summer – Relative Humidity (%) 30 - 70 Space
by coil psychometrics
Use Type
Winter – Dry bulb temperature (°CDB) 21 ± 1°C
TAB 3.6.7 - 3 Internal Design Conditions

Occupancy
(m2 per person)
Ventilation
(l/s per person)
Occupant Load SEN
(W per person)
Occupant Load LAT
(W per person)
Equipment Load
(W/m2)
Lighting Load
(W/m2)
Occupancy Load
(W/m2)
Façade Load (W/
m2)
Room Side W/m2
O/A Load (W/m2)
Total Load (W/m2)

ccupants per m2
The indoor design condition will vary across different zones based on space typology. The following table
includes examples of different space types along with their respective internal temperatures:
Anchor
1.5 0.67 10 75 55 20 10 86.7 17.5 134.2 85.3 220
Indoor conditions Assets

Indoor condi- Summer – Relative Humidity Residential 20 0.05 7.5 75 55 15 10 6.5 17.5 49.0 4.8 54
Space Use Type
tion (oC) (%)
Electrical switch room 27 ± 2 30-60
Commercial
10 0.10 8.5 75 55 15 10 13.0 17.5 55.5 10.9 66
Substation 30 ± 2 30-60 Employment
General corridors 24 ± 2 30-60
Plantrooms 27 ± 2 30-60 Hospitality 1.5 0.67 5 75 55 5 10 86.7 17.5 119.2 42.7 162

Healthcare 24 ± 2 30-60
Data centre 27 ± 2 20-80 Retail 2 0.50 8 75 55 5 10 65.0 17.5 97.5 51.2 149
BESS 24 ± 2 30-60
Common
TAB 3.6.7 - 4 Internal Design Conditions Social 2 0.50 7.5 75 55 15 10 65.0 17.5 107.5 48.0 156
This will be further elaborated in later stages, once more detailed information of the breakdown of assets and Infrastructure
TAB 3.6.7 - 5 Internal Design Conditions
their usage in the architectural dataset set is developed

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Connection to SPINE Assets Cooling of Basement and Technical Floors

Technical floors and basements are cooled based on the following criteria:
The demands for the Spine stations , Lineside Facilities, and their respective Tunnel’s cooling requirements 235W/m2 for MV/LV rooms, 120 W/m2 for Mechanical rooms/PH/Fire ,350 W/m2 for ICT/TEL
were obtained by AECOM (different design work packages). and 1300WM2 for data centres. Their respective cooling demand is estimated to be around 32 MW per
module.
An RFI has been raised to confirm whether it is safe to assume that the Northern (future) Spine will be a Edge data centres are integrated with the Communication Sub Stations in the basement of both blades every
replica of the Southern Spine currently being designed. While this RFI remains open at this stage, AECOM 5 modules. The electrical load of each edge data center is estimated to be 5 MW.
has assumed that the Northern Spine will be a replica of the Southern Spine, therefore the above demands
were doubled to account for future provisions. Therefore, the cooling load for each edge data centre is estimated to be 5 MW, leading to a total cooling
load related to technical floors for modules including edge data centres, of around 42 MW per module.
The data centers’s cooling system, whether supplied from the chilled water network or through a standalone
system, will be further evaluated during the design stage .

Cooling of Facilities outside the LINE

The cooling demand for hyperscale data centres, electrical substations with their respective BESS outside the
LINE have been allowed to the DCP sizing based on the following:
• The cooling load of the Data Centre has been estimated to be equal to its electrical load:
Hyperscale data centre cooling demand, each : 25 MW .
T&D Hub cooling demand , each : 10 MW.
• The cooling load of the substation has been estimated to be 1% of the PSS capacity: 1.8 MW of cooling
per PSS on average.
• A cooling capacity of 3 MW per Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has been allowed for in the
DCP sizing, assuming that each PSS includes 1 BESS, as per the report ‘’ 20231129 - Marina BESS
Conceptual Design - Final Report’’.

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3.6.8 District Cooling Plants Frequency and locations

DCP Frequency DCP-MODULE FREQUENCY
In the 90% DMP, for most of THE LINE, it has been proposed to have one DCP serving multiple modules, i.e., DCP # Modules served DCP Cooling MW
two or more. A standardized DCP capacity across THE LINE has been considered, whenever applicable, DCP008 M_014 M_015 - - 465
to facilitate the construction of similarly sized DCPs. However, to optimize pipework lengths, diameters, and
DCP009 M_016 M_017 - - 510
pumping capacities, a maximum of four modules has been considered to be served by one DCP, regardless
of its capacity. During the 50% DMP, three DCP categories were considered as summarized below: DCP010 M_018 M_019 - - 465
DCP011 M_020 M_021 - - 465
• Type A: Nominal Capacity ranging between 400 and 600 MW of cooling.
DCP012 M_022 M_023 - - 450
• Type B: Nominal Capacity ranging between 250 and 400 MW of cooling. DCP013 M_024 M_025 - - 495
DCP014 M_026 M_027 - - 480
• Type C: Nominal Capacity ranging between 100 and 250 MW of cooling.
DCP015 M_028 M_029 - - 465
This will be revisited to reflect the intention of ENOWA discussed during the workshop held in Dubai in DCP016 M_030 M_031 - - 495
October 2023 and summarized below: DCP017 M_032 M_033 - - 450
• ENOWA’s strategy is to combine 3 modules under one DCP ; This requires an updated architectural DCP018 M_034 M_035 - - 465
dataset that includes a population breakdown among assets, which will impact cooling load intensities DCP019 M_036 M_037 - - 465
(w/m2) and consequently the cooling load of the modules. DCP020 M_038 M_039 - - 510
• Currently, the average coastal region module’s cooling load is around 250 MW. As for now, if we DCP021 M_040 M_041 - - 450
combine three modules, this would lead to a plant capacity of around 700 MW, expected to be reduced DCP022 M_042 M_043 M_044A - 645
if we implement the actual occupancy (m2/person) instead of ASHRAE values. DCP023 M_44B M_045 1/2 M_046 1/2 M_046P 525
DCP024 1/2 M_046 1/2 M_046P M_047 M_048 A 535
• ENOWA aims to standardize the capacity of each DCP at 600 MW, regardless of the number of served
DCP025 M_048B M_049 M_050 - 585
modules.
DCP026 M_051 M_052 - - 495
DCP-MODULE FREQUENCY DCP027 M_053 M_054 - - 510
DCP # Modules served DCP Cooling MW DCP028 M_055 M_056 - - 495
DCP001 M_000 M_001 - - 390 DCP029 M_057 M_058 - - 450
DCP002 M_002 M_003 - - 495 DCP030 M_059 M_060 - - 450
DCP003 M_004 M_005 - - 450 DCP031 M_061 M_062 - - 510
DCP004 M_006 M_007 - - 480 DCP032 M_063 M_064 - - 420
DCP005 M_008 M_009 - - 465 DCP033 M_065 M_066 - - 420
DCP006 M_010 M_011 - - 510 DCP034 M_067 M_068 - - 420
DCP007 M_012 M_013 - - 450 DCP035 M_069 M_070 - - 480

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DCP-MODULE FREQUENCY DCP-MODULE FREQUENCY

DCP # Modules served DCP Cooling MW DCP # Modules served DCP Cooling MW
DCP036 M_071 M_072 - - 450 DCP064 M_162 M_163 - - 315
DCP037 M_073 M_074 - - 450 DCP065 M_164 M_165 - - 330
DCP038 M_075 M_076 - - 405 DCP066 M_166 M_167 - - 315
DCP039 M_077 M_078 - - 480 DCP067 M_168 M_169 M_170 - 465
DCP040 M_079 M_080 - - 450 DCP068 M_171 M_172 M_173 - 345
DCP041 M_081 M_082 - - 375 DCP069 M_174 M_175 M_176 - 300
DCP042 M_083 M_084 - - 375 DCP070 M_177 M_178 M_179 M_180 270
DCP043 M_085 M_086 - - 420 DCP071 M_181 M_182 M_183 M_184 270
DCP044 M_087 M_088 - - 360 DCP072 M_190 M_191 M_192 - 195
DCP045 M_089 M_090 - - 375 DCP073 M_193 M_194 M_195 - 195
DCP046 M_091 M_092 - - 345 DCP074 M_196 M_197 M_198 - 210
DCP047 M_093 M_094 - - 330 DCP075 M_199 M_200 M_201 - 210
DCP048 M_095 M_096 - - 360 DCP076 M_202 M_203 M_204 - 180
DCP049 M_097 M_098 - - 300 DCP077 M_205 M_206 M_207 - 195
DCP050 M_099 M_100 - - 330 DCP078 M_208 M_209 M_210 - 345
DCP051 M_101 M_102 - - 300 DCP079 M_211 M_212 M_213 - 270
DCP052 M_103 M_104 - - 360 Total 31525
DCP053 M_105 M_106 - - 315
TAB 3.6.8 - 1 DCP Frequency
DCP054 M_107 M_108 - - 330
DCP055 M_109 M_110 - - 285 DCP locations
DCP056 M_111 M_112 M_113 - 375 DCPs across THE LINE will be fully buried, housing chillers, pumps, thermal storage tanks, and all auxiliary
DCP057 M_114 M_115 M_116 - 360 equipment. However, cooling towers will be located above ground. As per the current proposal, DCPs with
DCP058 M_117 M_118 M_119 - 390 their cooling towers on top are situated 500 meters away from THE LINE (refer to Appendix). During the
workshop held in Dubai in October 2023, ENOWA stated their intent to locate the DCPs with their cooling
DCP059 M_120 M_121 M_122 - 315
towers 4 kms away from THE LINE, due to the perceived impact of above-ground cooling towers in the
DCP060 M_123 M_124 M_125 M_126 375 proximity of THE LINE. This change necessitates further studies and investigations throughout THE LINE. In
DCP061 M_127 M_128 M_129 M_130 375 some locations, such as mountainous regions, it is challenging to place the DCPs in such distant locations.
DCP062 M_131 M_132 M_133 M_134 360 The following challenges should be taken into consideration while adopting the above-mentioned strategy:
DCP063 M_160 M_161 - - 330 • Length of pre-insulated carbon steel chilled water pipes from DCPs to THE LINE, which will affect the

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head of the secondary pumps located in the plant and the DCP's CAPEX.

• Power Supply to remote DCPs.

• Make-up water to the DCPs: length of service connections from the SWT and impact on the construction
of the SWT if the source of water supply would be from the SWT- to be discussed with ENOWA Water.

• Development of a blowdown water strategy and its associated pumping energy requirements, specifically
for modules located away from the centralized WRPs.

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3.6.9 District Cooling Plant Strategy

Resilience It is recommended to size ring main pipes
Duty only with provision of
Resilience of systems has been one of the most important factors considered in developing the district cooling to provide approx. 50% of peak capacity
CHW ring main isolating 50% of the ring main via
strategies. Following the 90% DMP stage for THE LINE, district cooling teams from AECOM and ENOWA to ETSs in case of failure or maintenance to
isolation valves
have discussed and agreed the acceptable resilience in system and consequences in case of failure. either side of ring main.
Similar resilience strategy to phase 1 has been adopted for THE LINE Wide district cooling strategy. 2 off supply/return pipes. Each Connection to either side of ring main
sized to approx. 50% of peak thus, in times of ring main failure at a
The table below outlines the updated redundancy strategies considered for a typical plant across THE LINE. CHW connection to ETS flow single point, 50% capacity to ETS can be
maintained
Each HEX sized from 2MW up to 10MW,
CHW heat exchangers in depending on the ETS capacity. If one
Duty only
Item Redundancy Comments ETS HEX fails, the ETS will operate at ~75%
Every 10 duty chillers will have 1 capacity
Chillers CHW pumps in ETS N+1
standby
Thermal storage Tanks Duty only 2 off supply/return pipes. Each
sized to approx. 50% of peak In case of failure, leaks or maintenance
CHW heat exchangers in Every 5 duty heat exchangers will CHW transmission risers on one pipe, ETSs can operate at 50% of
DCP have 1 standby flow
peak capacity.
CHW primary pumps Aligned to each chiller
Every 20 duty cooling towers will A+B supplies to all switchboards.
Cooling towers All equipment will have dual power
have 1 standby Electrical A+B switchboards to power all
supplies from different switchboards
CCW pumps Aligned to each chiller equipment
Every 5 duty pumps will have 1 All field equipment will be monitored by
CHW secondary pumps Total of 2 off standby pumps two BMS. If one fails, the standby system
standby
2 off supply/return pipes. Each Pipework needs to be considered. Unlikely takes control.
Controls A+B controls and control panels
sized to approx. 50% of peak to be an issue in the first years of operation Please note that field items such as
CHW headers flow motorised valves, sensors will not have
however, it needs to be considered for 20
years of service life redundancy.
2 off supply/return pipes. Each TAB 3.6.9 - 1 Resilience
sized to approx. 50% of peak In case of failure, leaks or maintenance on
CHW reticulation to ring
flow one pipe, DCP can provide only 50% of During previous DMP stages, AECOM aimed to ensure 100% redundancy at peak conditions in case on any
mains
peak cooling demand. pipe failure.
However, during the workshop held in Dubai in October 2023, ENOWA directed AECOM to implement a
50% redundancy level at peak conditions in case if any pipe failure.
AECOM recommends ensuring at least 80% redundancy. This will require evaluation and consideration of
the impact on space planning if adopted in later stages.

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Chilled Water System CHW design temps

The chilled water system in the DCP will consists of water-cooled chillers located in underground plantroom. The design temperatures for CHW system are given in the following table.
The chillers considered are 14MW cooling capacity HFO type chillers with dual centrifugal compressors Each chiller will be provided with dedicated primary chilled water pump and condenser water pump.
in series hence, the chillers will be operating in series-counterflow arrangement with the condenser water The CHW system will operate as variable primary-secondary loops with VFD primary and fixed speed
system. secondary pumps connecting to CHW flow and return headers with motorised bypass lines. In later stages,
the strategy of variable primary pumping only will be further investigated in comparison to primary-
Where seawater heat rejection system can be implemented, direct seawater system is preferred aligning with secondary system.
the Marina modules. The chillers required for this application will be selected with titanium condensers and
associated items, suitable for marine application. Direct seawater application has several benefits over indi- The schematic below illustrates the basic arrangement of the chilled water system.
rect type such as lower system pressure losses and pumping power, better efficiency as there is no interme-
diate plate heat exchangers. There are several examples in the Middle East such as The Pearl in Dubai which
operates on direct seawater system.
The preliminary selected chiller has a peak COP of 6.1 which will be used to determine the heat rejection
requirement of the plant.
As part of resilience, every 10 off duty chiller set (including associated pumps) will be provided with 1 off
standby chiller set. Refer to the “Resilience” section for detailed breakdown of redundancy assumed for each
plant item.

Other alternatives such as propane and ammonia chillers have also been considered and investigated for
this application. Following discussion with TRANE, one of the leading chiller manufacturers worldwide, they
are not further considered for the following reasons:
1. These chillers are not available at high capacity i.e. propane and ammonia chillers are available at
300kWr and approx. 2MWr capacity as compared to HFO 14MWr water cooled chillers.
2. These chillers are generally air cooled, therefore; COP is significantly lower than the water cooled al-
ternative.
3. Being air cooled, DCP cannot be in ground and to meet the cooling demand, DCP footprint will be
significantly larger than currently proposed solution.
4. Both propane and ammonia is highly flammable and imposes a risk of explosion.
5. These type of chillers are generally used for process cooling applications rather than comfort cooling.

Systems Temperatures (°C)

CHW flow/return temperatures to/from LINE Basement ETS 4.5 and 14.5

TAB 3.6.9 - 2 CHW design temperatures FIG 3.6.9 - 3 Chilled Water System Arrangement

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DCP layout and Culvert Arrangement 80% redundancy which can be achieved with 1,900mm CHW supply pipes in the culvert and 2,100mm
CHW ring main in the utility tunnels.
Same strategy of pipework redundancy discussed in VOLUME 2 (Phase 1) is applicable to THE LINE. The
option of serving three modules with 1 DCP in the coastal region should be further investigated subject to an Washout valves and drainage sumps with grating are considered to empty pipes of water during
updated architectural dataset including population breakdown. maintenance. . Location and interval of access points in the culvert will be further developed in the next
stages.
The secondary CHW pumps will reticulate low temperature CHW between DCP and the ring main via 2 off
flow and return insulated pipework respectively. Each pipe will be sized for 50% of the peak design flow,
connecting to the ring main in the utility tunnel. Isolation valves will be provided in each flow, return pipe and
the ring main to isolate in case of leaks, failures, or maintenance. In this arrangement, if any of the pipework
fails, the whole cooling system will lose capacity and can only operate at a maximum of 50% of peak
design capacity.

We recommend that the CHW supply and ring main pipe sizes are slightly increased to maintain higher
redundancy.
Chilled water pipes from the DCP to THE LINE will be installed within a culvert with removable slabs.
During the workshop held in Dubai in October 2023, AECOM presented their proposal for culvert
arrangement, whereby a double girder crane was proposed within the culvert to meet the invisibility
requirements for perceived impact.

However, during the workshop held in Dubai in October 2023, NEOM Urban Planning (UP), THE LINE
Proponent (TLP) and ENOWA sectors agreed on the following points to optimize the culvert heights:
FIG 3.6.9 - 4 Chilled Water Pipes Arrangement within the Culvert
• No crane requirements within the culverts per ENOWA's view. If any items (pipes, valves, etc) need to be
taken out, then it is acceptable to UP, TLP and the Sectors to have cranes access the landscaped areas
and dig to take out / install new equipment.

• NEOM UP agreed to consider a cover of 1.5m above the culverts (rather than 2m).

Accordingly, AECOM has amended their culvert proposal as presented in the below figure.
The size of each pipe within the culvert has been determined to be 1,700 mm for a standard DCP capacity of
around 600 MW, based on a maximum velocity of 3.8 m/s, as agreed upon with ENOWA. However, the
maximum velocity within the ring mains is lower, at 3 m/s, which results in a larger ring main size of 1,800
mm.
We recommend that the CHW supply and ring main pipe sizes are slightly increased to maintain close to

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Ring Mains A provisional connection should be provided between the ring mains in the utility tunnel. This connection
ensures resiliency between adjacent DCPs during part-load conditions; that is, the sizes of the ring mains
Pipes from the culvert are connected to each side of the ring. Valves are installed on the pipes and across
have not been increased to cater for additional loads during peak.
the ring main to ensure that 50% of the peak flow can be maintained in the event of any failure. It is
recommended to increase the pipe size to allow approx. 80% redundancy. The valves installed on the pipes connecting the two ring mains will be closed during normal operation and
will open when needed to transfer the flow from one ring main to another.

FIG 3.6.9 - 5 Connection to Ring Mains.

*Sizes above are applicable for standard DCP capacity of around 600 MW.
*The same strategy for the ring main is applicable to THE LINE, subject to further studies concerning the
structural arrangement and size of the utility tunnel throughout THE LINE.

FIG 3.6.9 - 6 Interconnection between ring mains

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Hot Water & Space Heating in the Modules

The strategy for Hot water generation in each module has been detailed in the water section of the report.
The current strategy involves water sourced heat pumps which will use the CHW return to the DCP as the heat
source. The heat pumps will be located in dedicated plantrooms beside/close to ETS rooms in the basement
and technical floors.
Heating provisions, where applicable, shall be further studied in the design stage. ENOWA would like to ex-
plore if the same heat pump as the hot water generation system, with dedicated heat exchangers combined
within the same plant room can be utilized for the heating.
Consequently, space allocation shall be further evaluated to accommodate the heating equipment within the
hot water plant rooms.
This system will provide additional efficiency in the district cooling system where it acts as a free cooling
provided to the cooling system. In the next stages, district cooling and MEP teams should coordinate to
understand the heating/hot water requirement and daily/annual profiles to ensure that the flow requirement FIG 3.6.9 - 8 DCP Layout
to heat pumps can be maintained at all times.

DCP Spatial

DCP Capacity (MW) DCP Size Comments

This spatial (excluding electrical
Standard DCP of around 600 infrastructure) is indicative based on
310m (L) x 137.5m (W) x 10m (H)
MW capacity the current layout of equipment and is
subject to change in later stages.
TAB 3.6.9 - 7 DCP size
FIG 3.6.9 - 9 DCP Layout - Isometric View
DCP layouts & schematic
The following images provide a preliminary layout of the chilled water plant with cooling towers heat
rejection strategy however, these physical arrangements are subject to change with further development of
architectural datasets, cooling demand and strategies to optimize overall plant efficiency.

FIG 3.6.9 - 10 Typical Chiller with Pump Installation

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3.6.10 Heat Rejection Strategy

Cooling Towers
This strategy involves conventional induced draft cooling towers installed on ground directly on top of DCP to
provide condenser cooling water to the DCP. This is a general strategy for most of the DCPs across THE LINE.
The below image shows a basic schematic of chilled water system with cooling towers.

FIG 3.6.10 - 2 DCP arrangement with Cooling Towers

FIG 3.6.10 - 1 Water Cooled CHW System Schematic with Cooling Towers

CCW Design Temperatures

The design temperatures for CCW system are given in the following table

Systems Temperatures (°C)

CCW flow and return 33 and 38

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The below model images show the intent of installation of cooling towers Cooling Tower Plant Capacity
The DCPs serving THE LINE modules have a maximum cooling capacity of approx. 600MW. For analysis,
we have considered the heat rejection plant for a DCP with maximum cooling capacity which requires a heat
rejection plant of 698MW.

Blow-
Make Blow- Make up
down
DCP CCW up down water
DCP Heat Rejection Water
Cooling Flow water Water (Potable
(Potable
(TSE) (TSE) water)
water)
# MW MW L/s m3/day m3/day m3/day m3/day
Standard
600 698 33,398 39,098 10,099 23,436 6,059
DCP

FIG 3.6.10 - 3 Isometric View of Induced Draft Cooling Tower Plant Arrangement TAB 3.6.10 - 5 DCP Cooling Towers Plant Parameters

Plant Spatial & Visibility

To define the plant spatial requirement, we have considered an array of 8MW induced draft cooling tower
plant to achieve approx. 700MW. The below table provide the spatial required to accommodate such a
plant:

System Location Limitations Plant description Dimensions

90 off 8MW induced draft
cooling tower. Installed on
ground in row arrangement 4 rows off towers.
Condenser
Externally on Screened to reduce with side intake and side Total plant spatial
Cooling
ground visibility discharge in an N+1 is 150m (L) x 70m
Water
arrangement. 4 off rows will (W) x 11m (H)
be required to cater for heat
rejection capacity.
TAB 3.6.10 - 6 DCP Cooling Tower Plant Spatial
FIG 3.6.10 - 4 Induced Draft Cooling Tower Plant Arrangement Layout

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Make-up Water Supply

ENOWA’s intent is to supply the cooling tower plants with TSE from the water recycling plant (WRP) in The
LINE and where TSE is not available and/ or constraints exist within the WRP to treat blowdown from 100%
TSE make up, supply can be via potable water supply, or most likely a blend of both TSE and PW. The cooling
make-up water strategy should align with the overall wastewater recycling strategy and other TSE needs such
as irrigation.
Each connection, whether potable water or TSE, must be sized to accommodate the full flow, although
ENOWA projects that the annual plant demand will be as follows:
• 50% of the make-up water demand (TSE) to be supplied to the DCPs through ENOWA Wastewater – to
be agreed with ENOWA Wastewater.

• 50% of the make-up water demand (potable water) to be supplied to the DCPs from the SWT (or others)
to the DCPs – to be agreed with ENOWA Water.

TAB 3.6.10 - 5 shows the daily peak make-up water demand for both full TSE and full potable water supply
cases, with COCs of 2 and 6, respectively.

The estimated annual consumption is a 50% TSE/50% PW blend. However, the daily consumption blend
will be determined by the TSE's availability from the WRP, which requires an hourly TSE generation profile
throughout the year.

The TDS of the recycled water from the WRP refers to ''NEOM-NWA-TGD-2021-051''(as shown in FIG
3.6.10 - 7), which indicates a maximum TDS of 1500 from the WRP for unrestricted irrigation use. However,
The water quality to most chiller and cooling tower manufacturers suggestes a maximum TDS of around 2500 FIG 3.6.10 - 7 TSE Water Quality from WRP for Unrestricted irrigation use as per NEOM’S standards
mg/L .Therefore, the maximum TDS of the blowdown from cooling Towers has been assumed to be around
2500 mg/L . However, it should be diluted to meet the required standards once the use and treatment of blow-
down are defined - To be confirmed by ENOWA Wastewater.
The TDS of the potable water refers to ''NEOM-NWA-TGD-2021-004'' (as shown in FIG 3.6.10 - 8), which
shows a maximum TDS of 130 mg/L .Consequently, the resulting TDS of the blowdown water from cooling
Towers will be less than 1000 mg/L with a COC of 6 -7.

ENOWA’s intent regarding the Blowdown from the DCPs is to present it to a local wastewater network where it
could be diluted with other water for irrigation use – this requires further discussions with ENOWA Water and
Wastewater; and aligned with their respective strategies.

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Geothermal

Ground source heat rejection is considered as one of the options however, this system will involve pumping
condenser water from the chiller into the ground via a closed loop system, for the heat to be rejected into the
ground. It is expected that this system can be considered only as a supplementary heat rejection strategy to
the DCP.

The climatic conditions at NEOM suggest that the district heat rejection will be predominately used for cool-
ing purposes, i.e., heat will be rejected into the ground. This imposes a risk of depleting the ground in terms
of acting as a heat sink. Typically, a ground heat sink will require regeneration i.e., both heat is injected and
withdrawn from the ground.

Seawater Heat Rejection

The seawater is a significant and highly valuable natural energy resource that is available at coastal locations
and can be used for heat rejection purposes. In this case, some modules in THE LINE may be located close to
FIG 3.6.10 - 8 Potable water quality
sea where the DCP can be provided with seawater heat rejection system aligning with the Marina DCPs.
The major benefits of a seawater heat rejection plant include:
Maintenance • In-ground and invisible plant
General annual maintenance of cooling towers requires inspection of the evaporative cell blocks, fans • No evaporative water consumption.
water, dosing system, pumps, pipework, cooling tower basin, pump strainers etc.
Plant equipment and cooling tower components such as fans, evaporative cell blocks, pumps, chemical A detailed description and requirements of the seawater system has been provided under the masterplan
dosing system do not require frequent replacement and expected to last around 20 years provided that strategy of the Marina DCP including direct seawater system, seawater temperature requirements, relationships
general maintenance is performed in timely manner. between seawater temperature and depths. Please refer to 100% DMP Report – Book 2 relating to the Marina
Maintenance of cooling towers will require working at heights and redundancy required in the system is modules.
significantly lower as compared to seawater.

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3.6.11 Chilled Water Pipework Strategy

The same pipework strategy, which includes connections from ring mains to ETS, the number of ETS,
transmission, and interconnection between ETS, as well as the distribution to cores/assets adopted in phase
1, will serve as the basis of design for THE LINE-wide system. This approach is subject to adjustments based
on the structural arrangement, cores, and technical floors distribution specific to LINE modules.

3.6.12 Electrical Supply to DCP

Power Provisions
LINE DCPs will be fed via 33 or 22 Kv feeders in N+1 arrangement.
However, the selected chillers, pumps and other associated items are rated at much lower voltages ranging
from 13.8kV to 400V. This requires further voltage step-downs within the plant as detailed below: FIG 3.6.12 - 1 DCP’s EL SLD
*The number of feeders/transformers is indicative shall be further evaluated during design stage
• 26 feeders in total (13 +13), with N+1 Strategy has been considered.
- Each 13 feeders are coming from a separate Switchboard from the PSS.
- Each Switchboard is supplied from different transformers.

• It is proposed that 18 feeders to be directly connected to RMUs with stepdown (33/22)/13.8kV 15-20
MVA Dry Tx
- These Transformers are. connected directly to chillers and secondary pump's switchboards (MV
equipment).
- 1 switchboard will feed several equipment.

• 8 Feeders are connected to a 33/22kV Switchboard:

- This Switchboard is then connected to 12x (33/22)/.4kV Tx.
- Each Transformer is connected to a LV Switchboard rated at 6000Amps.
FIG 3.6.12 - 2 Electrical Infrastructure’s Spatial (33/22Kv option)
- 1 switchboard will feed several equipment.
If the DCPs are relocated 4 Kms away from THE LINE, it is recommended to also relocate the Electrical
The electrical demand required for a maximum DCP capacity (600 MW) is around 143 MW considering a Substations and place them next to the DCPs to avoid additional costs and voltage drops from lengthy cable
COP of 4.2 for the plant at peak including chillers, pumping and auxiliary loads. runs.

Figures FIG 3.6.12 - 1 and FIG 3.6.12 - 2 show a single line diagram and spatial requirement of the Mechanical Switchboards
33/22 KV supply option, respectively.
Mechanical switchboards will be provided in duty standby arrangement with each board being supplied
by different transformer to provide resilience. All mechanical equipment such as chillers and pumps will
be powered from both switchboards therefore, in case of a fault in the duty switchboard, the standby will
provide power.

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