Qatar District Cooling Company, Qatar Cool, was recognised for their Stewardship in District Energy and were presented with an award at the IDEA conference held this year in conjunction with the Canadian District Energy Association, for expanding the district energy industry by being one of the leading providers to supply the highest number of buildings outside of North America during 2010.
Qatar Cool added to its operational and contracted customers 42 new buildings in 2010, serving 6,489,357 sq. ft.
The award recognises Qatar Cool’s consistent contribution to the district energy community, which was cemented with their hosting of the prestigious association’s Middle East Chapter in November last year in Qatar.
Fayad Al Khatib, CEO of Qatar Cool and Mr. Mohannad Khader, Business Development Manager were in Toronto, Canada to receive the award at the 102nd IDEA Annual Conference.
Mr. Al Khatib noted “This award reflects Qatar Cool’s commitment to excellence and reinforces our position as an industry leader in the field of district cooling. Earning recognition from an organisation such as the International District Energy Association (IDEA) sends out the positive message of our continuous drive for meeting and exceeding our customer’s and stakeholder’s expectations.”
Qatar Cool supplies Doha’s West Bay area through two district cooling plants producing a total of 67,000 refrigerating tons of cooling. The company also owns and operates the world’s largest integrated district cooling plant on the Pearl-Qatar Island.
The accomplishments of Qatar Cool were also showcased at the IDEA conference with Mr. Al Khatib addressing a plenary session on a “Local Drivers – District Energy: Essential Infrastructure for Energy Efficient Communities”. During this session industry leaders discussed the integration and optimization of district energy, environment and economy in major urban centers.
Al Khatib highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships and the strong need for planning and engaging with all stakeholders early on in such large scale projects.
Mr. Al Khatib described the significant progress Qatar Cool had made in its six year history, supporting Qatar’s 2030 National Vision and its Environmental Development Program aimed at finding harmony between economic growth, social development and environmental protection.
He told the conference that while Qatar had one of the largest carbon footprints per head of population in the world, district cooling schemes will contribute to significant reductions of that footprint, through considerable energy savings which result in lower CO2 and other harmful gas emissions as well as the usage of ozone friendly refrigerants.
The IDEA is a non-profit industry association founded in the United States in 1909 with over 1300 members worldwide and meets on a yearly basis.
The mission of IDEA is to facilitate the exchange of information among district energy professionals to promote energy efficiency and environmental quality through the advancement of district heating and cooling. Through education, technical conferences and robust peer exchange, IDEA actively lobbies to secure favourable policies, legislation and regulations for district energy worldwide.
Originally Published On: www.ameinfo.com – Original Article Here