Qatar Cool facilities impress US officials

A delegation from the United States Department of Energy and the International District Energy Association (IDEA) last week visited the Qatar District Cooling Company (Qatar Cool).

The visiting delegates, including senior policy adviser Katrina Pielli from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the US Department of Energy, IDEA president and CEO  Robert Thornton, and IDEA chairman and director of Global Industrial Chillers at Johnson Controls Joseph Brillhart were taken by senior Qatar Cool executives on a tour of the company’s award-winning plant-1 in West Bay as well as the Integrated District Cooling Plant (IDCP) at The Pearl-Qatar.

A Qatar Cool representative said that IDEA has played a key role in promoting energy efficiency and environmental quality, as well as in spreading awareness about district cooling technologies around the world.

“Being affiliated with IDEA has not only helped Qatar Cool to stay on the cutting edge of district cooling technology, but also gave it its rightful position among the leading district cooling providers in the world.”

District cooling contributes to the well-being of the environment by reducing the carbon footprint.

“District cooling systems can be up to 30% to 60% more energy efficient than conventional cooling systems. By consuming less energy, district cooling plants reduce the amount of CO2 emitted to the environment,” Pielli explained.