International recognition for UAE’s District Cooling providers

In what can be viewed as an endorsement of the UAE’s achievements in District Cooling, Empower and Tabreed walked away with multiple honours at the 105th annual International District Energy Association (IDEA) Conference and Trade Show in Seattle. The awards were won through competitive nominations from around the world.

Empower receiving the Gold Award in the “Total square footage committed to District Cooling services beyond North America” category and the Bronze award in the “Total number of buildings committed to district energy beyond North America” category, the latter, for the ninth time at the event.

In addition, Empower CEO, Ahmad Bin Shafar received the “Unsung Hero Award” at the event. He was reportedly recognised for his contributions in transforming Empower from a startup to the world’s largest District Cooling services provider over the last decade. Bin Shafar was instrumental in one of the largest acquisitions in the international District Cooling industry recently, as the company acquired Palm District Cooling in January. The company’s portfolio now stands at an estimated one million tonnes of refrigeration of cooling capacity, which is the largest of any single company in this sector.

Speaking about the company winning the awards, Bin Shafar said: “This milestone reflects Empower’s successful strategy to maintain the perception of real estate developers regarding high standards of District Cooling services. District Cooling services have become environmentally and economically optimal solutions to be used in residential and commercial buildings, hotels and offices due to their significant efficiency in operational costs, maintenance and preservation of energy and environment protection.”

In the wake of the international recognition, Empower reiterated that Dubai hosting the next IDEA conference, bringing together 600 experts in December, would prove to be the ideal platform to showcase the district energy industry’s achievements.

Tabreed announced the news of it winning a Silver award each, in the “Total building area committed outside of North America” and the “Number of Buildings Connected to District Cooling outside of North America” (during the same year), category.

On the occasion, Jasim Husain Thabet, Tabreed’s CEO, said: “We are honoured to be recognised by the world’s leading district energy association for our achievements last year; 2013 saw Tabreed continue its strong performance and connect over 70,000 tonnes of cooling, including high-profile projects, such as Yas Mall, World Trade Center Mall and Saudi Aramco.

“In addition to delivering reliable year-round cooling to these critical projects, we were likewise able to make a significant contribution to our nation’s effort to reduce its carbon footprint.  In 2013 alone, Tabreed’s energy savings reached 1.2 billion kilowatt hours, which translates into the elimination of approximately 570,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions – the equivalent to removing over 110,000 cars from the streets.”