Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, participated in the panel discussions as part of the 110th session of ‘International District Energy Association (IDEA) Conference in Pittsburgh, USA. The panelists were decision-makers of public and private sectors from around the world representing international energy companies, engineers, contractors, consultants and suppliers. The ‘2019 IDEA Conference & Tradeshow, is being held from 24 to 27 June, under the theme "Energy for More Sustainable Cities".
Bin Shafar participated with other experts in the panel discussion entitled ‘De-Carbonizing Cities with District Energy’, which discussed the ways to reduce carbon emissions in cities and modern communities using the latest technologies and strategies; to enhance economic competitiveness. The session also reviewed the latest innovations in water treatment.
Bin Shafar stressed the importance of promoting district cooling solutions for protecting the environment, as well as its contribution to the strategies of Dubai and the UAE to reduce carbon emissions. This has led many to adopt district cooling systems to preserve the environment using clean energy; and proved the need to expand and invest heavily in district cooling, which saves up to 50% of energy consumption, compared to the conventional cooling systems.
“The agenda of the conference discusses major developments in the field of district cooling, and its role in the conservation of natural resources. The conference also included panel discussions on financing district cooling organisations and for cooling in urban areas, in addition to discussion on the latest technologies based on Artificial Intelligence,” said Bin Shafar.
“The sessions discussed several topics with major common goals: to find solutions to combat climate change, reduce carbon emissions, find investment opportunities for the expansion of district cooling, and review information and design challenges to achieve the best operational performance for cooling plants,” added Bin Shafar.
Bin Shafar stressed that Empower will review its latest cooling solutions, the best models and operating systems in Dubai, and its role in developing innovative solutions and technologies to develop this vital and ever-growing sector, and contribute to achieving the objectives of the UAE Green Growth Strategy.
Empower also participated in other two sessions entitled “Implementation of TES in an Existing District Cooling Plant” and “How Data Acquisition Helps to Improve Plant Performance Effectively” to review Empower’s experience in investing in the latest technologies and smart data to support Dubai’s efforts to enhance the efficiency of the cooling sector and also to provide an easier experience for countries and companies looking to implement district cooling systems.
Empower provides district cooling services to more than 1,090 buildings, catering to more than 100,000 customers. The company operates more than 1.43 Million Refrigeration Tons (RT), providing environmentally friendly district cooling services to large-scale real estate developments, such as Bluewaters, Jumeirah Group, Business Bay, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai International Financial Centre, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Ibn Battuta Mall, Discovery Gardens, Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai World Trade Centre Residences and Dubai Design District, International Media Production Zone and others.