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Speakers at the 2014 Idea International District Cooling Conference.

Major projects focus for district cooling summit

DUBAI, December 23, 2014

Major cooling projects and thermal energy storage for more efficient operations at large-size district cooling plants formed the agenda for a recently concluded district cooling conference in Dubai, UAE.

“The key to the success of any district cooling provider is enhancing the overall operational efficiency and ensuring that customers receive a consistent level of service. Though seemingly simple in theory, in reality this demands tremendous investments,” said the statement issued at the conclusion of the 2014 Idea International District Cooling Conference.

The conference ended with a conducted tour of the state-of-the-art command and control centre (CCC) of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), a leader in district cooling, for prominent delegates from the international district cooling industry.

Organised by the International District Energy Association (Idea), the international conference also tackled operations, maintenance, efficiency and optimisation of district cooling and stressed the importance of optimising district chilled water systems and achieving efficient optimised district load and storage distribution.

Day Two of the conference critically analysed the financing of district cooling infrastructure by tapping the capital market, understanding risk management and competitive financing. Key speakers from global and regional institutions shared their perspective on the potential and prospects for growth in the district cooling industry.

Robert P Thornton, president and CEO of Idea, said that six leading international and local banks attended the conference which featured a panel discussion on the value of district cooling industry in the region, prospects of providing capital for the industry and assessing overall risks related to such financing.

The participants said that the growing confident of the banks in financing district cooling projects stems from regional governments’ commitment to the growth of this industry.

Thornton said that the UAE government has ambitious plans to double the production of district cooling as it forms a crucial component of its energy strategy.

District cooling industry was not always easy to be quantified or monetised and its benefits are collective to the larger society as much as they are individualist to end users, he added.

The technical tour included Empower’s Business Bay and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) plants.

Ahmad M Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, said that inviting prominent members of the district cooling industry to the company’s state-of-the-art command and control centre in Dubai was a demonstration of Empower’s responsible approach to district cooling.  The CCC critically analyses processes that are crucial to the global advancement of the industry and the overall growth of district cooling companies, such as the complete cycle of financing, developing, building and managing sustainable district cooling systems.

Bin Shafar added: “Empower’s CCC offers a 360-degree view of all activities across our plants including operations that ensure the efficiency of its cooling towers and consumer consumption patterns. This investment represents a global first: more than one million parameter tags on a virtualised IT platform for the district cooling industry. We were pleased to share with our peers our success story through this project.”

Bin Shafar pointed out that the conference has enabled Dubai to share with the world the story of how its district cooling schemes are being operated and how they could serve as a model for other countries of the world.

Held under the theme ‘Cleaner Energy, Greener Cities’, the conference highlighted the district cooling schemes adopted in different parts of the world. It also explored new mechanisms to track, monitor and control up the district cooling production and delivery in real time across companies’ district cooling networks. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Empower | Idea |

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