Claims UAE surpasses advanced countries in DC infrastructure

Emirates Central Cooling Corporation (Empower) participated in the 103rd Annual Conference & Trade Show, International District Energy Association (IDEA), held in Chicago, from June 29 to July 2, where Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, led his company’s delegation, which included Tariq Al Yasi, Chief Operations & Maintenance Officer, Ramesh Ramadurai, Chief Financial Officer and Mohamed Kahoor, Director of Business Support Services.

Commending the professionalism of the organisers of the conference held under the theme, “Cooler, Cleaner Cities”, Bin Shafar reportedly said: “This is our eighth participation in the IDEA Annual Conference. We look at this event as a platform to view new practices in the district cooling industry. We are proud to say that the UAE has built a solid and modernised district cooling infrastructure, surpassing many advanced countries. Empower has big plans to boost the district cooling industry in the Middle East by accelerating the migration to district cooling that will achieve positive results to the community, environment, economy alike.”

Bin Shafar reportedly expressed his belief that district cooling has become an integral part of daily life in the GCC, with recent studies projecting an average 14% penetration of district cooling services in the region’s air conditioning segment, and is expected to exceed 25% by 2020, covering hospitality, residential, commercial and sports buildings as major end-users.