Empower to kick off operations in region’s first green district cooling facility

Dubai (WAM): Empower, a leading district cooling services provider, has begun commissioning the region’s first district cooling plant built in line with green building principles. The facility provides 45,000 Refrigeration Tonnes (RT) of cooling services to developments in Dubai’s Business Bay, it was announced yesterday. "The commissioning of the new Business Bay plant is a demonstration of how seriously Empower takes sustainability," said Ahmad Bin Shafar, Chief Executive Officer, Empower. "The facility has been planned according to international and regional benchmarks in sustainability the design is in line with LEED building principles, as well as Dubai Executive Council’s directives on environmental sustainability." The plant is Empower’s second facility in the Business Bay area and increases the geographic scope of the company to include buildings from Sheikh Zayed Road to Al Khail Road. Construction of plant has been completed in just over a year and includes state of the art infrastructure such as pumps, chillers, water tanks, cooling towers and office space. This is the fastest commissioning of a district cooling facility of its size in the Middle East. "The completion of the Business Bay plant reflects our continued commitment to providing secure and reliable cooling services to an expanding base of customers," continued Bin Shafar. "This plant will be an integral part of a multi- facility district cooling network in Business Bay. On completion, the Business Bay network will provide residential, retail and commercial real estate developments with up to 300,000 RT of cooling services." At one million RT, Empower operates the world’s largest district cooling portfolio. The company’s existing network covers landmark real estate developments like Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai International Financial Centre, and Business Bay, among others and is also set to construct the district cooling infrastructure for the upcoming Dubai Design District (d3). – Emirates News Agency, WAM – http://www.wam.ae/en/news/economics/1395268773217.html