Business & Money | Sunday 13 November, 2016 2:26 pm |

Under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Chairman of Emirates Airlines & Group, the International District Cooling Conference 2016 kicks off tomorrow (Monday, 14 November 2016) at Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. 

Themed as ‘A Climate Solution’, the conference will follow until November 15th and will see the attendance of government officials, executives and industrials representing international corporations operating in the district energy beside designers, contractors, consultants and suppliers. 

The conference is organized by the International District Energy Association (IDEA) and hosted by the Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower).

 

“We are excited to launch this global conference and to meet our partners and competitors under one banner. We would like to emphasize the strategic contribution of the district cooling applications in saving carbon footprint and resources like energy and water, especially in our countries where the environmental question is representing a big challenge. This is the second time we host this platform here in Dubai; this is to say how huge are the steps that we have taken reaching global environmental objectives. I take the occasion to thank HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, for continually supporting and embracing this initiative,” commented HE Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO, Empower.

 

Several panel discussions, roundtables, networking sessions, peer to peer meetings and presentations are arranged during the two days of the conference, in addition to IDEA’s Carbon Champion award to be presented at the gala dinner, not to mention the technical tours to Empower’s Business Bay plant (BB-2) and Command Control Centre. 

 

The Gala dinner will take place at the end of the first day of the conference, where IDEA will congratulate the District cooling industry in the Middle East on their contribution of over 1 million tonnes of CO2 reduction. District cooling is indeed a proven and key climate solution for cities; in the Middle East it has played a vital role in increasing energy efficiency and reducing regional emissions of CO2. 

 

The companies that will be honored for this collective contribution include Empower, Emicool, Marafeq, PAL Cooling Holding LLC, QatarCool, Saudi Tabreed, Tabreed UAE and Tabreed Bahrain.

 

“IDEA is renowned for organizing outstanding conferences with highly qualified speakers and professionals in the district energy industry. We are proud of the collaboration with Empower to host this edition of District Cooling Conference in Dubai. We hope that we will bring valuable responses to participants and help in setting the district cooling sector as a ground player in the sustainable environment sphere. The conference will also address the effect of district energy infrastructure in the GCC as it will allow us to get the accurate response,” said Mr. Rob Thornton, President and CEO, IDEA.

 

“Established in 2003, Empower was set up with a clear objective to enable the real estate sector to rationalize energy consumption via district cooling services (DCS) and hosting such a world-class conference serves this mandate,” concluded Bin Shafar. 

 

The conference incorporates an international trade exhibition that displays latest technologies and solutions in district cooling and will bring together IDEA members and suppliers from different countries.

 

Workshops are held today 13th of November, allowing the attendees to engage in a global brainstorming on the best practices to design, operate and optimize district cooling systems. 

 

Empower currently operates more than 1.1 Million RT, providing environmentally responsible district cooling services to large-scale real estate developments such as 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, Dubai Design District, among others.