Qatar Cool wins two IDEA awards

Qatar Cool, a private sector joint-venture company, provides efficient district cooling services for the public, as well as for commercial and industrial sectors in various locations in Qatar. The company also produces chilled water for both single and multiple clients from centralised production plants.

In a ceremony held recently at the IDEA's 100th Annual Conference and Trade Show in Virginia, USA, Qatar Cool won the 2008 District Energy Space Silver Award for serving 888 individual buildings with district cooling . Qatar Cool also won a 2008 District nergy Space Bronze Award for its record of growth in serving clients with a combined square foot area of over 73 million square feet. Both awards were in the international category.

Receiving the award on behalf of Qatar Cool was its General Manager, Fayad Al Khatib, who explained that this was the second year running that Qatar Cool had been recognised by the IDEA.

"This is an important testimonial by a highly reputable international body, and gives ample demonstration of the growing importance customers place on the benefits of district cooling in their projects," he said.

"Some of our major accomplishments this year are serving the first villa and first residential community and retail outlets at The Pearl-Qatar. We are the exclusive service provider of district cooling for the four million square metres that make up the Island," he added.

With the construction of the world's largest district cooling plant nearing completion, Qatar Cool will be able to provide up to 130,000 tons of refrigeration and cooling services to more than 40,000 residents when fully operational," said Al Khatib. "Eventually it will be the world's largest single district cooling plant ever constructed, and will make the Middle East the world's fastest growing region to use district cooling technology for major real estate and urban development projects."

Qatar Cool's first district cooling scheme was located in Doha's West Bay area, and covers 10 square kilometres, supplying over 67,000 refrigerating tons of cooling to a range of residential, commercial and government customers. By the end of 2009, Qatar Cool will be operating two plants there with a capacity to supply approximately 2,000,000 square metres of air conditioned area; however, due to the extreme demand for district cooling services, Qatar Cool is now planning to establish additional plants in this area of Doha.

"As international concerns over global warming and climate change have increased, there is growing pressure on companies to reduce their carbon footprint, as well as employ more environmentally-friendly technologies," he said. "District cooling, which helps conserve energy as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is set to enjoy an upward demand curve as the rate of real estate development across our region continues to grow."

Robert Thornton, President of IDEA, notes that, " Qatar Cool's winning of the District Energy Space Award is particularly important for both Qatar and Qatar Cool as an indication that Qatar is clearly making significant progress in clean energy development and is now reaching a scale of operations that reflect a major commitment to energy efficiency, water conservation and environmental stewardship. Building a system of this magnitude requires leadership and vision, sound engineering and insightful planning."

"In the Middle East," says Thornton, "approximately 75% of total energy consumption is for air conditioning of buildings. But district cooling systems can reduce the peak demand on the electricity grid by using more efficient, industrial grade equipment that operates at higher efficiency and higher load factor. The result is that less electricity is required for air conditioning with a subsequent reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. District cooling is a progressive solution and is now recognized as the preferred solution for modern urban settings and emerging green communities around the world."

"The use of district cooling demonstrates that the master developers are really committed to efficiency, reliability and quality." Thornton said, "People now want to live and work in more efficient and environmentally responsible buildings. District cooling positions buildings to have lower life cycle costs, lower carbon footprints and this makes these properties more valuable to their owners and enhances the resale value of property."

He added, "Qatar Cool has demonstrated significant market growth, confirming that district cooling as a utility service is clearly advancing in this region. We are now seeing both a corporate and a community level commitment to improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions."

"District cooling is a capital intensive infrastructure, property owners may initially compare district cooling service with the cost of electricity but ultimately district cooling service displaces building air conditioning equipment, shifts peak demand, reduces maintenance and operating expenses and over the life of the building, avoids capital replacement costs. On a community scale, district energy systems also reduce peak power demands, conserve water, and improve fuel efficiency. The strong regional growth in district cooling demonstrated by Qatar Cool shows a greater awareness in the region for the need for greener energy and environmental solutions," he said.