Leading regional and global real estate developers, contractors, consultants, master planners, property owners and designers are taking part in The International District Cooling Conference 2016 which opened in Dubai, UAE, on Monday.

The two-day event will see high-ranking industry officials and experts discuss the strategic use of district cooling in saving energy and enabling sustainability in modern cities, said the event organisers.

It was officially inaugurated by Ahmad Bin Shafar, the chief executive of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), and Rob Thornton, the president and chief executive of International District Energy Association (Idea) in the presence of top officials and experts accompanied by a delegation of the public and private sector.

The “districtCooling: A Climate Solution” event is being held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai.

"This is a huge opportunity for stakeholders of the district cooling industry globally and in the UAE to showcase their products and services to an international audience from the Gulf region and beyond," stated Bin Shafar as he made a tour of the exhibition along with other officials.
 
"It is of great pride that the opening has attracted that much attention from participants and media. We have high expectations from this event and we are confident that this international gathering will bring the awaited solutions in term of business deals and best practises to all attendees," he noted.

The officials were introduced to a wide range of providers, manufacturers, suppliers and business partners in the district energy sector, during a tour among the stands.

The event was attended by senior representatives from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Johnson Controls, Carrier, Daikin, Mitsubishi, Siemens, Supreme Council of Energy, Trane, DC Pro Engineering, Bronze, Elips, Evapco and Climate Control Middle East.

In his opening remarks, Thornton said: "This edition of the International District Cooling conference will allow us to find about the next generation of district cooling systems and related technology."

"Our goal is to set up development and upscaling goals that contribute to a sustainable and efficient energy and water management," he noted.

Recognised industry leaders took part at the opening plenary panel discussion that focused on the best practises in the district cooling systems deployment, operations and business.

Bin Shafar (Empower) along with Yasser Al Jaidah (Qatar Cool), Afif Harhara (Tabreed), Anwar Hassan (Johnson Controls), Juan Ontiveros (University of Texas Austin) discussed the strategic role of district cooling in supporting the Paris Agreement (COP 21). Tim Griffin, the chair of Idea, addressed the session.

The following panel discussions gave insightful interventions and presentations on financing the district cooling solutions, the regulations in the GCC region, the environmental innovations, design considerations taking into account the regional factors, DC applications around the world and the DC system optimisation to create customer value, said the organisers.

The participants are being given several occasions to interact, mingle and network during themed roundtables, Idea recognition Luncheon, Idea business partner exhibitors’ receptions and the gala dinner hosted by Empower, they added.

The District Cooling 2016 conference will be held tomorrow (November 15) with a rich programme featuring discussions on district cooling projects from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Jordan, lined up for the session besides comparative study of various systems, thermal energy storage and best practices in plant room construction, and operation and maintenance in the GCC region.

The event concludes tomorrrow with technical tours to give participants a peek into Dubai’s achievement in the district cooling sector and check on the ground Empower’s projects and plants. The tours are planned to the Business Bay Plant 2 and to the Command Control Centre.-TradeArabia News Service