Our technical expertise led to the annual saving of around 3 Million AED & resulted in around 10% energy consumption reduction
The client is recognized as one of the leading district cooling providers in the United Arab Emirates. They have an extensive portfolio of District Cooling Plants (DCPs) and are keen on pursuing substantial opportunities to expand their operations throughout the Gulf region’s dynamic property development market. The client was interested in enhancing the efficiency of their plants and reducing their energy consumption costs. As a result, they reached out to Ark Energy. The specific project in question was centered around one of the client’s DCPs.
The particular plant was consuming more energy than its benchmarked peers. Since the O&M team was limited to the available instrumentation and sensors for major equipment, the plant was operating in manual mode, lacking digital energy monitoring or automated fault detection. Additionally, a couple of the major pieces of equipment were non-operational due to issues such as leakages and corrosion in some tubes, preventing the plant from delivering as per its design intent during peak times. Furthermore, the equipment and instrumentation were experiencing high harmonics. Based on the above observations, operational expenses continued to rise consistently.
In order to reduce their overall energy consumption, lower operational costs, digitalize their processes, and optimize chilled water production, the client has enlisted Ark Energy to design and implement a comprehensive energy optimization and operational modernization program covering their eleven plants. This initiative will commence with one of their plants, and the features of this plant are detailed in the table below:
The features of the initial District Cooling Plant that was tackled by Ark Energy
In this specific DCP, there is a total installed capacity of 30,000 tons of refrigeration, making it a significant revenue contributor to overall production. However, it is a high-energy consumer based on the analysis conducted. During the baseline period from November 2019 to October 2020, the plant delivered approximately 89,614,550 ton-hours of cooling while consuming about 79,247 MWh, including solar production. In total, the specific plant incurred a utility cost of 41.5 million AED, with the cost distribution outlined below:
Energy Consumption & Energy Cost of the corresponding District Cooling Plant
The distribution of the overall utility cost for the District Cooling Plant in question
The Ark Energy team, acting as the client’s consultant, commissioned an Energy Service Company (ESCO) within the region that can provide a range of energy performance services. These services include an ASHRAE level energy audit targeting O&M issues, providing comprehensive Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs), detailed engineering and design, installation and commissioning, and Measurement & Verification services. The Ark Energy Team was responsible for supervising and reviewing the work done by the selected service company. Some of the key energy conservation measures that were utilized include the following:
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