District cooling using treated water
DUBAI: Empower claims to have saved 194 million gallons of fresh water last year by using treated water in its district cooling systems.
Empower (Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation), said to be the world’s largest district cooling services provider, achieved the savings in line with the directive of The Crown Prince of Dubai’s stipulation that district cooling companies must opt for sea water, grey water or treated sewage effluents (TSE) in order to preserve the country’s water resources.
“Under the directive and vision of the Government of Dubai and the UAE toward sustainable practices, we have been able to achieve global excellence in adopting TSE water for DC services, proving that DC is the ideal solution for meeting the demand for the chilling sector without compromising on saving fresh water,” said HE Ahmad Bin Shafar, chief executive officer of Empower.
Empower first began transition from fresh water to treated water in four plants – in Dubai Healthcare City, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai International Financial Centre and Business Bay – leading to significant water saving. The effort was won the first Innovation Award by International District Energy Association (IDEA), in 2013. Empower also succeeded in implementing a new system to restore the cooling water used in the refinery for reuse.
Empower currently operates more than 1 million RT, providing 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, Dubai Design District, among others.
