Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, announced that it has reached the final stage of the supply network for district cooling services to Dubai Arena, the newest and largest destination for international events and live shows in the region. The cooling pipes network has been extended by 1 km from Business Bay and special techniques were used to pass the pipes without disrupting traffic, by digging a 210 meters long tunnel under Sheikh Zayed Road and another tunnel (42 meters) under Al-Albani street. Supply of district cooling services from the plant has been started in October 2018, and the final phase of the project is now connected.
“The Dubai Arena project was a challenge for us due to the drilling work we had to do for the pipe network along the streets that connects the project to the cooling plant located in Business Bay. We used special techniques to prevent traffic disruption that may occur due to the drilling operations. The Dubai Arena project supports our ongoing efforts to establish a pipe network that transfer district cooling services across Dubai, especially considering the steady growth in demand for these services. The project also supports Empower’s strategy to offer district cooling services to large urban projects, as they are efficient, reliable, and having low production and operational costs. Empower raises awareness about the importance of adopting district cooling services and promotes green practices across Dubai, in line with the UAE Vision 2021 to make the UAE one of the best countries in energy and sustainability by 2021, and the Dubai Plan 2021 to establish Dubai as a smart and sustainable city, whose environmental elements are clean, healthy and sustainable,” said Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower.
“Empower enhances its efforts and partnerships with the public and private sectors to achieve sustainable development, through environmental conservation and reduction of carbon emission by promoting energy efficiency and optimization in consumption. This supports the Demand Side Management Strategy to reduce electricity and water consumption by 30% by 2030, and the Carbon Abatement Strategy to reduce carbon emissions by about 16% by 2021,” added Bin Shafar.
Meraas’s Dubai Arena is the largest all-purpose, indoor, air-conditioned arena, and the newest and largest destination for international events and live shows in the region. Empower will provide district cooling services to Dubai Arena which is covering approximately half a million square feet and has a capacity to accommodate nearly 20,000 visitors. The venue will host international sporting and entertainment events such as ice hockey matches, basketball matches, and the world tours of global artists.
Empower has signed an agreement last year with Meraas, to supply 3,600 Refrigeration Tonnes (RT) load of district cooling service to Dubai Arena.
Empower has more than 1,090 buildings that are using district cooling services, catering to around 100,000 customers. The company operates more than 1.43 Million 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, amongst others.