Dubai, UAE, 9 April 2019: Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) continues its deep-rooted approach and efforts to employ smart District Cooling systems that support the transition towards “Accelerating the Circular Economy 360”, and achieving the national development goals based on more sustainable development paths, the District Cooling utility said through a Press communiqué. Empower has aligned its strategy with national visions and strategies, mainly the UAE Vision 2021, which aims to create and maintain a sustainable environment and infrastructure by 2021, and the UAE Centennial 2071, which aims to secure a happy and sustainable future for generations to come and enhance the country’s status as the best country in the world, the utility further said through the communiqué.

UAE adopted the Circular Economy as a substitute for the traditional linear economy. The latter relies on ‘producing, manufacturing and wasting’, while the circular economy relies on optimum utilisation of resources to preserve natural resources and prevent their depletion. The Government of the UAE, in cooperation with the World Economic Forum for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has signed the “Accelerating the Circular Economy 360” initiative to be the first country to support the Global Initiative. District Cooling, which is now widely adopted in several countries, aims to achieve the objectives of the circular economy. Moreover, District Cooling systems are environmentally friendly and contribute to enhancing energy efficiency and saving energy, as it uses 50% less energy compared to conventional cooling systems, the communiqué said.

Recycling of resource is one of the basic principles of circular economy, and adopting it requires utilising the Fourth Industrial Revolution, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. Empower, the communiqué said, relies on recycled water, and adopts a solid approach based on encouraging innovation and employing modern technologies to achieve sustainable development. Empower, the communiqué added, works on cooling and saving water during peak hours, through Thermal Energy Storage (TES) and Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE) technologies to reduce wasting fresh water and conserve water resources by using treated sewage water in its operations. According to the communiqué, Empower has received IDEA Innovation Awards for the ‘360 Solution for Metering Artificial Intelligence, AIMS 360’ technology, the first of its kind in the field of District Cooling that supports the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy, secures sustainable energy supply, and enhances efficiency, using AI technology to keep abreast of the global technological development in this sector. Empower has also adopted the ‘Energy Transfer Solution Flow Control Optimisation Using Statistical Process Control’ system.

Empower has recently revealed the world’s first unmanned and fully automated 50,000 tonnes of refrigeration (TR) District Cooling plant, by the company. According to Empower, the plant uses AI to monitor and automatically adjust inflow and outflow of the chilled water, as well as Advanced SCADA system with the capacity to read two million data related to cooling towers, chillers, transformers and water supply.

“Empower’s District Cooling systems are based on sustainability and recycling, which is the foundation of the circular economy, making it the most suitable model for sustainable development, to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations,” Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO, Empower, said. “District Cooling systems have become an essential element in planning and designing modern environmentally friendly buildings in the world and in Dubai. District Cooling is one of the six energy efficiency accelerators within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).”

Bin Shafar stressed that Empower’s efforts support the reduction of electricity and water consumption by 30% by 2030, by spreading awareness among its 100,000 customers in Dubai about rationalising the use of District Cooling systems to conserve natural resources and protect the environment. This supports making Dubai a global hub for green economy, and the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050.