Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, announced the start of construction work for its new plant in Dubai Production City, worth AED 197 million. The project will be implemented in two phases, with the first phase is expected to be complete by the end of 2020.

Empower highlighted that the total capacity of the project will be 47,000 Refrigeration Tonnes (RT) to serve its customers in Dubai Production City. This supports Empower’s strategy to meet the growing demand for district cooling services, and to provide high-quality and environmentally-friendly district cooling services. The plant is constructed as per international standards and seeks to achieve LEED Gold certification.

“The new plant in Dubai Production City will use the latest Chiller Technology, achieving unprecedented low KW/TR. Two Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tanks will be functioning in the plant; this technology helps to optimize the usage of on and off peak hours and thus saves energy efficiently. Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE) technology will also be used in the plant operation, to save potable water and preserve resources for generations to come,” said Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower.

“We strive to achieve the vision of our wise leadership, in all our projects. Empower supports the objectives of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which seeks to make Dubai the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050, the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy, to reduce carbon emissions by 21% by 2021, and Smart Dubai, which aims to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world. District Cooling is one of the key solutions to achieve these objectives.” added Bin Shafar.

“The plant, constructed as per international standards, will significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, in addition to protecting natural resources. The new plant will be connected to Empower’s state-of-the-art remote Command Control Centre (CCC) by using advanced SCADA system. Operation will be controlled from CCC, and no human presence will be required at the plant,” Bin Shafar further noted.

Empower provides district cooling services to more than 1,090 buildings, catering to more than 100,000 customers. The company operates more than 1.43 Million Refrigeration Tons (RT), providing environmentally friendly district cooling services to large-scale real estate developments, such as Bluewaters, Jumeirah Group, Business Bay, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai International Financial Centre, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Ibn Battuta Mall, Discovery Gardens, Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai World Trade Centre Residences and Dubai Design District, Dubai Production City and others.