Empower completes 4th phase of District Cooling network in Business Bay

Empower completes 4th phase of District Cooling network in Business Bay

Company uses ELIPS isolated pipes that saved 25 percent of project cost

Dubai, UAE, 11th January 2012: Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) has completed the fourth phase of the 70,000 refrigeration tonne (RT) district cooling network stretching from the Bay Square to the end of Business Bay on north-west side, one month ahead of schedule.

With this completion, the company has completed the integrated district cooling services to the entire Business Bay project.

The company had earlier completed the third phase of the project which includes “The Bay Square” extending to the rear of the Executive Towers with 50000 refrigeration tonne (RT). The network, starting at Bay Square and ending at Doha Street, extends over a distance of approximately 2.5km. With this section, the upper side piping network will be fully completed and connected to Empower’s Business Bay Executive Towers (BBET) main plant.

Ahmed Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, said: “We are delighted to complete the project with a high level of efficiency, seamlessness, precision and within the set budget and timeline. For this project, Empower supplied pipes to the project manufactured by its joint venture Empower-Logstor Insulated Pipes Systems (ELIPS), UAE's largest pre-insulated pipe manufacturing facility. This has allowed us to save 25 percent of the total cost of the project. Moreover, the site supervision was carried out entirely by Empower staff.”

Bin Shafar added: “We always work according to the timeline by constructing temporary and semi permanent work stations as per the actual demand. We have deployed the best technologies in constructing this world class network to ensure highest performance and quality.”

“District cooling systems (DCS) achieve economies of scale by using centralised plants instead of individual cooling units in each building. The centralised system results in diminishing capital and operating costs, thus reducing air-conditioning set-up and energy costs per building,” said Bin Shafar.

Bin Shafar added: “We are proud to say that the fourth phase of the Business Bay Network was implemented totally by using ELIPS isolated pipes.”

Empower entered this joint venture of launching ELIPS with an eye on securing the supply chain of pre-insulated pipes used in District Cooling Services (DCS) networks which constitute 20-25% of the total capital investment of any network. ELIPS ensures timely delivery and installation of pipe networks that had major impact on Empower’s project timelines.

“ELIPS maintains high quality of insulation and casing of pipes, enhancing efficiency and maintenance costs of District Cooling Systems services,” Bin Shafar said.

Commenting on the benefits of district cooling, Bin Shafar added: “District cooling is 50% more efficient than conventional air conditioning solutions; it also removes the heavy load on the electricity grid when the demand for cooling is high. District cooling is the most eco-friendly air-conditioning technology in meeting the world’s CO2 reduction targets. Therefore we believe that the global growth in district cooling systems will be huge in the years to come.”

“Empower’s position as the region's number one company for district cooling has now been consolidated with the completion of the entire network infrastructure of Business Bay,” said Bin Shafar.

Empower provides energy-efficient district cooling services to Business Bay along other projects, including large-scale real estate developments such as Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai Healthcare City, Jumeirah Beach Residence and City Of Arabia.