Business & Money | Tuesday 14 June, 2016 10:49 am |

As part of the European Union Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW 2016), being held from 13-17 June in Brussels, H.E Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, headed to Belgium to participate in the 2nd partners meeting of "District Energy in Cities" initiative of United Nations Environment Porgramme (UNEP), which will be held on Tuesday (14 June, 2016) in the UN House in Brussels. 

 

 

Chaired by UNEP, the meeting aims to review the initial assessment results of using district cooling in a group of Indian cities and will enable exchange of knowledge between cities adopting district cooling. Moreover, it will see discussions about next steps to spread district cooling in more cities across the globe. Also, the meeting brings together government departments, financial institutions, private companies, international experts with an aim to increase the technical awareness of district cooling applications and features. The meeting serves as an ideal platform for cities to benefit from the in-depth knowledge of participants to discuss partnership opportunities for increasing the use of district cooling technologies.

 

 “In line with our strategy to enhance and boost the widespread of district cooling around the world and to support global initiatives in this industry, we at Empower continue to be active participants in "District Energy in Cities Initiative" coordinated by UNEP. We will join hands with our partners to lay solid foundations for district cooling in many other cities worldwide and to ensure that best industry practices are followed in terms of operational efficiency and environmental standards,” said HE Ahmad Bin Shafar.  

 

 

During the meeting, Empower will participate in panel discussions to provide insights on the status of district cooling industry. It will also display the best practices adopted in the UAE's district cooling industry and the routes of empowering this industry globally in addition to other relevant topics that support expanding the global footprint of district cooling technologies. 

 

Empower is an active partner to UNEP’s ‘District Energy in Cities’ initiative, which is introduced to spread district cooling systems and infrastructure across developing cities around the globe. As part of the initiative and knowledge-sharing, Empower was part of rapid assessment conducted by UNEP in selected Indian cities, and the company also shared its expertise in a special workshop held in Rajkot, India, last month. 

 

 

 

Bin Shafar added: “The UAE has taken the first steps in its journey to adopt district cooling. Nearly after a decade, we are transferring our knowledge to the world to be a major contributor in promoting district cooling technologies worldwide. We are confident that implementing this initiative in India will be a model to follow in other parts of the world in the near future,” concluded Bin Shafar.

 

The European Sustainable Energy Week, to be concluded on Friday 17th June, is an initiative of the European Commission. It incorporates a long series of activities to build a secure energy future for Europe. It includes the EUSEW Policy Conference, Energy Days and Networking Village and the EU Sustainable Energy Awards. It brings together public authorities, private companies, NGOs and consumers to promote initiatives to save energy and move towards renewables for clean, secure and efficient power.

 

 

Empower currently operates more than 1,100,000 RT, providing environmentally responsible district cooling services to large-scale real estate developments, such as 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, among others.