World Record Awarded for Business Bay District Cooling Plant’s Capacity of 241,272 Refrigeration Tons
IDEA member and diamond sponsor Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation PJSC (Empower) was recently awarded the Guinness World Record for the highest capacity district cooling plant. The award is a well-deserved recognition of Empower’s status as the world’s largest district cooling services provider and the astounding capacity of its Business Bay District Cooling system in Dubai.
The system currently has a capacity of 241.272 refrigeration tons (RT), but will scale up to have an ultimate capacity of 451,540 RT. To break that capacity down a bit further – the system provides all those refrigeration tons through nine district cooling plants – four of which are currently operational, and it serves 188 multi-use buildings and skyscrapers through a pipeline network of 32.5 miles (52.4 kilometers). Additionally, the project utilizes advanced thermal energy storage (TES) and treated sewage effluent (TSE) to maximize efficiency and sustainability.
IDEA recently sat down with Samer Khoudeir, Nizar Ibrahim and Noura Jamal of Empower to discuss the award. The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
IDEA: Congratulations on your Guinness Book of World Records award? Can you tell us the process behind applying for and receiving the award?
Empower: As we were working on developing the Business Bay project, we realized that, to the best of our knowledge, it might be the highest capacity district cooling project in the world. So, we applied to the Guinness World Record team. They told us they didn’t have any records yet for district cooling projects, so they made a new record and title for us. They did have some criteria we had to meet in terms of megawatts and that it had to be one single project and one single site, but fortunately, we were able to meet all of their criteria. They then validated and verified our claim and awarded the record.
It's really amazing to be the first in district cooling history to win a Guiness Book of World Records award.
IDEA: We also saw the project is equipped with advanced TES and uses TSE, can you tell us about these technologies and how they used in the Business Bay project, as well as their benefits for customers and sustainability efforts?
Empower: For TES, we produce chilled water during off-peak hours and store it for use during peak hours to help ease the load on the power grid. We have four district cooling plants in the Business Bay project, and all four plants are interconnected to a single network, and three are equipped with TES tanks. We also use TSE, but that is not for chilled water, it is for the cooling towers.
IDEA: Since Empower was founded as a company only two decades ago, how did you achieve this world record in such a short amount of time?
Empower: That’s correct. We started with a single district cooling plant that served Dubai’s financial district in 2004. At present, we have 87 distributing plants across Dubai that provide approximately 1.53 million RT to nearly 1,600 buildings. Business Bay is the business hub of Dubai and it’s a very large district with more than 300 buildings. Right now, we serve 188 of those 300 buildings.
IDEA: Can you tell us about the environmental impact of the project and how it’s advancing decarbonization goals?
Empower: District cooling itself is able to reduce power electricity usage by up to 50%. So, in itself and on its own, district cooling is a sustainable solution and is one of the big reasons the government in Dubai is encouraging and promoting district cooling. The government also has its own KPIs for district cooling. For instance, the Dubai government is targeting 40% penetration of district cooling by 2030. The current ratio is 24%, and the government is expected to meet their 2030 goal.
IDEA: Did you face any difficulties or have to overcome any challenges while developing the Business Bay project?
Empower: The interconnection of the buildings in Business Bay did have difficulties because we had to cross the Dubai Canal, which is 20 feet (6 meters) deep and connect the buildings through micro-tunneling through the Dubai channel. However, the Dubai government is excellent at creating master plans, and they had provided the options for the tunneling, pipeline, network and everything else we needed for the project.
IDEA: So, you have a Guinness World Record and incredible systems in place across Dubai. What’s next for Empower?
Empower: We also have a range of plans, but since we currently only serve Dubai, geographical expansion is one of future goals, but that depends on government policy since Empower was established by the government of Dubai. The need is certainly there for more district cooling – in the Middle East, 70% of the energy used by buildings is used for cooling. That is a fact, and the reality in this part of the world. So, there is a need for sustainable cooling solutions in this region. Perhaps, we will also try for another Guinness World Record in the future.
We want to continue to promote district cooling worldwide. Our CEO, Ahmad bin Shafar, is a special advisor on district cooling to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Additionally, our team collaborated with ASHRAE for the district cooling guide in 2013, and an updated version in 2019. That guide is like the Bible for all district cooling engineers and other professionals in our industry. We’re now in the process of making it the standard for the district cooling industry worldwide. Empower, similarly to our industry as a whole, is also looking to continue to innovate, and we’re excited to help enable the future of district cooling.
IDEA: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, and congratulations again on your award!
Empower: Thank you.