Qatar District Cooling Company (Qatar Cool) has announced that there has been a surge in the production of tonnes of refrigeration (TR) over the past 12 months.
In a statement, the company has said its three plants have had a combined increase of 12% in the production of district cooling energy since 2013.
Qatar Cool owns and operates two district cooling plants in West Bay district with a combined capacity of 67,000TR. Plant 1, which was inaugurated in 2006, has seen a 6% increase in production while plant 2, inaugurated in 2009, has seen a 13% rise.
The Pearl-Qatar plant, which is the largest in the world, saw an increase of 15% over the past 12 months.
Ahmad Shehadeh, chief financial officer and acting CEO of Qatar Cool, said: “We anticipate seeing an increase in demand over the next few years as our third plant in West Bay district becomes operational. With district cooling being increasingly recognised for its eco-friendliness and low cost when compared to conventional air-conditioning, the demand for Qatar Cool’s district cooling solutions have risen significantly in Qatar and aligns with the country’s National Vision 2030.”
Meanwhile, the International District Energy Association (IDEA) has recognised Qatar Cool for its “outstanding contribution” to the reduction of regional CO2 emissions - about 125,000 tonnes of CO2 - through the deployment of highly efficient district cooling services in the Gulf region, the statement adds.
The area of planted trees required to absorb such an amount of CO2 is 2.7sqkm - the equivalent of around 400 football fields.
Qatar Cool is preparing to open its third plant in West Bay district to meet the growing demand for district cooling. It will be capable of providing nearly 40,000TR of cooling to commercial and residential towers in the district.
Qatar Cool is already experiencing a rapidly growing waiting list for its services, once the plant becomes operational in 2016, the statement further notes.
Qatar Cool has won multiple international awards, including the Best District Cooling System in the World award 2014 from IDEA. It was also recognised by Kahramaa’s Tarsheed, a national campaign to improve water and energy efficiency, for its energy conservation efforts in industrial buildings in Qatar. Most recently, Qatar Cool was awarded the Best District Cooling Utility Provider of the Year and Marketing Initiative of the Year award at the Climate Control Awards in Dubai.
