District Cooling

KHALEEJ TIMES | ADVErtISING supPlement

Sustainable operations The UAE is keen on producing clean energy technologies, and Dubai in particular aims to become a role model in energy competence

District cooling features a series of pipelines that transport chilled water to buildings to keep it cool. The sophisticated system, however, brings along its own share of challenges, which includes maintaining electricity and water costs and minimising environmental impact

Farhana Chowdhury

T

he UAE, situated at the crossroads of businesses, boasts hubs from all over the region. Its location, ease of conducting trade and setting up facilities has encouraged organisations from all over the world to establish a base in the country.

The increase in demand has led to number of industrial and business districts that range from manufacturing hotspots to distribution units. District cooling is an essential aspect that each area requires to ensure it maintains operations at an optimum level. Cool energy is vital in the field of centralised production.

One of the top district cooling service providers in the UAE is the Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (EMPOWER) that caters to a wide portfolio of infrastructures, including Business Bay, Dubai Healthcare City, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai International Financial Centre, Jumeirah Lake Towers, TECOM, Al Khail Gate, Palm Jumeirah, Discovery Garden and Jumeirah Village, to name a few.

It has successfully provided the city with feasible cooling services and currently holds about Dh9 billion projected investments for the next five years. EMPOWER aims to achieve a target of four million

cooling tonnes by the year 2015.

District cooling features a series of pipelines that transport chilled water to buildings to keep it cool. The sophisticated system, however, brings along its own share of challenges, which includes maintaining electricity and water costs and minimising environmental impact.

According to the UAE State of Energy Report 2014, initiated by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), about 35 per cent of UAE’s emission can be at-

tributed to electricity and water, making it necessary to implement a system that can ensure savings.

In a bid to keep up to its environmental goals, Dubai aims to reduce its power savings potential in district cooling by 14 per cent in Demand Side Management (DSM) based areas, a strategy towards energy efficiency, between 2013 and 2030.

The UAE is keen on producing clean energy technologies, and Dubai in particular aims to become a role model in energy

competence through cost-efficient electricity and water-saving measures. It is currently working on a regulatory framework for district cooling and Energy Service Companies (ESCO) that will attain building efficiency.

The State of Energy report also states that the cumulative total demand for refrigeration in the Middle East is expected to reach 2.9 million tonnes. District cooling brings in immense ecoconscious possibilities as a potential to

reduce yearly emission of carbon dioxide by one tonne for every demand served.

Local authorities have taken up campaigns to encourage reusing alternative sources in the sector. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), for instance, played a role to implement the use of treated sewage effluent water in district cooling plants, instead of desalinated water. Similarly EMPOWER replaced fresh water with treated wastewater to reduce environmental impact and costs along the way. — farhana@khaleejtimes.com

DISTRICT COOLING

khaleej times / ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Emicool Research and Development (R&D) section is continuously monitoring customer consumption for each project and has confirmed the positive impact of the installation of smart metering on customer behaviour related to consumption; which has achieved saving up to 12 per cent from last year benchmark

Emicool

Sound foundation Emicool has a proven successful track record in supplying cooling services to thousands of satisfied customers Emirates District Cooling (Emicool) LLC, one of the leading district cooling service providers in the region, was established in April 2003 in Dubai as a joint venture between Dubai Investments (50 per cent) and Union Properties PJSC (50 per cent).

The strong alliances between these two substantial business partners provide a sound financial and management foundation from which Emicool can undertake major projects in the UAE, Gulf and other regions.

With the support of its worldclass expertise, Emicool aims to use the revolutionary technique to equip its plants with the most comprehensive set of high energy efficient practices. Emicool is dedicated to delivering top quality customer service to become a key utility provider for district cooling services where advanced district cooling practices meets residents cooling needs.

By the end of year 2014, Emi-

Emicool provides environmental solution that eliminates noise pollution and heat rejection cool will have 10 fully operational plants, with a total capacity of 330,800 RT including reticulation pipe network and Energy Transfer Stations. The company is keen to expand its operation throughout the Gulf region’s dynamic property development market with great expectation due to Expo 2020.

Emicool also has a proven successful track record in supplying cooling services to thousands of satisfied customers located at the renowned Green Community Development, Dubai Investment Park, UPTOWN Mirdif Dubai, Dubai Motor City and Dubai Sport City.

Customer focus and cost-efficient district cooling to residents are its prime concerns. Hence, Emicool has opened Customer

Service Centre at each geographical location serving all customers’ requirements to ensure its vision “to be a recognised world-class provider of energy efficient district cooling.”

Emicool ensures exceeding customer expectations continuously through delivering district cooling services by a competent workforce at world-class level of reliability, efficiency, safety and environment, supporting resources sustainability.

It holds itself to professional standards and stands by operational endeavours as a social responsibility, and every successful plant as a bright reflection of its drive to keep the region at the forefront of prosperity and growth.

Emicool recently announced the establishment of new business

Trans Gulf Electro-Mechanical LLC

Trusted for decades With over four decades of experience, Trans Gulf has a number of projects under its belt Set up in the year 1972 under the umbrella of M/s Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Holdings, Trans Gulf Electro-Mechanical LLC has made its presence felt in the business of supply, installation, testing and commissioning of electro-mechanical solutions that include air-conditioning and ventilation systems, electrical and low current systems as well as wet services such as plumbing, drainage and fire-fighting systems for high-rise commercial and residential buildings, 5 star hotels and waterfront resorts, banks, hospital, shopping malls, food production facilities, luxury

villa complexes, palace complexes, mosques, airports, industrial facilities, heavy infrastructure works and district cooling plants as main contractor including civil works, such as Burj Dubai Development –DCP-2 and DCP3, DCP for Dubai Health Care City, Madinat Jumeirah – Chiller Plant, Ministry of Interior HQ Qatar – Chiller Plant, etc.

Until 2000, the Central Cooling Concept in the emirate was limited to the Dubai Airport. In that context, the Madinat Jumeirah Project was among the first non-airport projects to embrace central cooling, which involved 16,000 TR of cooling and 7km long chilled water piping network. Trans Gulf successfully implemented this project within a record time of 26 months.

Based on that standing, the company won DCP2 project (30,000 TR) at Burj Dubai Development, Dubai Healthcare City DCP (24,000 TR) followed by the largest project DCP3 (60,000 TR) at Burj Dubai Development,

which serves chilled water to landmark projects, including The Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall.

The company has been in business for more than four decades and undertaken more than 500 projects. The portfolio of projects completed includes some stellar names such as the Madinat Jumeirah Resort, Westin Hotel, Burj Dubai Al Manzil and Qamardeen Hotels, Meydan Hotel and the Dubai Race Course, Emirates Flight Catering facility, Fairmont Hotel, north runway and taxiway systems at Dubai International Airport, The One & Only Royal Mirage, Mercato Mall, headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Dubai, Al Marsa Tower, Al Jaber Tower, Al Tayer Tower, Dubai Festival City, Al Shoala Complex, 306 Al Barari Luxury Villas, 92 Villa Complex, Twin Towers at Baniyas Square, Medcare Hospital, Canal point Hospital and Wellness Centre, Harvard Medical School and many more.

ADC Energy Systems

Seasoned experts ADC Energy Systems works alongside leading utility developers and operators in the GCC region ADC Energy Systems is a leading company specialising in providing EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) solutions for industrial and commercial cooling, heating, refrigeration and energy systems serving the MENA region. With just over 560,000 tonnes of refrigeration (TR) of district cooling experience in the UAE, KSA and Qatar, ADC has developed an impressive track record in providing

turnkey solutions to its clients, and in delivering the most cost effective and efficient district energy systems in the region supported by its local market knowledge, its talented and resourceful pool of staff, and the creation of strategic alliances.

ADC has been successfully delivering cooling systems, spanning 5,000 TR plant to 90,000 TR plant, under various contracting schemes such as design and build, procure and construct, and mainly engineering, procurement and construction. In doing so, ADC has been contracted by a number of leading utility developers and operators in the GCC region. The list includes PAL Technology, Dalkia Utilities, Tabreed, Emicool, PDC, Nakheel, Baniyas Development, Marafeq Qatar and others.

ADC’s key figures are a testa-

ment to its expertise — current cooling design capacity is around 340,000 TR; backlog in construction works in Q1 2014 is for an additional 220,000 TR for a total of 18 plants and a turnover reaching over Dh1.6 billion since the start in 2005; staffing in Q1 of 2014 will exceed 600 employees of which nearly 200 are corporate, project management, executives, managers, engineers, support staff, and the balance in skilled and experienced labourers.

Building on its successful construction record, ADC is now targeting the delivery of a wider set of solutions in the fields of industrial refrigeration, district cooling, turbine inlet air cooling, renewable energy, combined heat and power, infrastructure works, and grain handling and storage systems.

partnership with European’s smart metering company Aquametro AG of Switzerland. The launch of the new company AquaCool Metering LLC is one of Emicool’s strategic achievements.

This alliance will provide the UAE market with solutions for building owners, developers and owner association management of BTU meters; prior and post BTU meter installation. Established by the experts in district cooling service, the service will ensure distinguished quality output.

Emicool are pioneers in the billing of district cooling services, as its invoice reflects detailed data and trend analysis of consumption. It has always been a challenge to assess the precise consumption of air-conditioning and to find the right allocation of utility cost between public areas and tenant’s premises.

Emicool Research and Development (R&D) section continuously monitors customer consumption for each project and has confirmed the positive impact of the installation of smart metering on customer behaviour related to consumption; which has achieved saving up to 12 per cent from last year benchmark.

Moving towards future growth, the company has massive development plans in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that will allow it to play a major role in the district cooling industry in the region.