Palm Utilities wins gold and silver honours in IDEA District Energy Space Awards 2009

Palm District Cooling recognised for servicing 'Most Number of Buildings' and 'Most Square Feet' beyond North America

Palm Utilities wins gold and silver honours in IDEA District Energy Space Awards 2009

July19, 2009
Palm Utilities, a fully owned subsidiary of Istithmar World PJSC, a major investment holding company incorporated in the Dubai World Group, has announced that its subsidiary Palm District Cooling (PDC) has been recently named recipient of gold and silver awards in two categories of the International District Energy Association’s (IDEA) District Energy Space Awards 2009. PDC received the gold award in the Most Number of Buildings Serviced Beyond North America category, and the silver award in the Most Square Feet Serviced Beyond North America category.

District Energy Space is an annual publication of IDEA that features a compilation of buildings that have committed or recommitted to district energy service in North America and beyond. The Energy Space Awards 2009 highlighted benchmark quality standards and performance excellence of IDEA members in the district energy industry. PDC was recognised for servicing a total of 1,479 buildings in key residential areas in Dubai, the most outside North America, while the total area being covered by PDC's cooling solutions has reached more than 73 million square feet, the second biggest outside North America. The prominent residential developments that are availing of PDC's services include the Gardens Residential Complex, Jumeirah Island Villas, Discovery Gardens, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Palm Jumeirah Crescent and Palm Jumeirah Trunk.

Shafiq Khoori, Managing Director, Palm District Cooling, who received the awards said, “These distinctions reflect Palm Utilities’ commitment to excellence and reinforce our position as an industry leader in the field of district cooling. Earning such a distinct recognition from an international organisation like International District Energy Association (IDEA) sends out the positive message of Palm District Cooling’s continuous drive for meeting and exceeding our stakeholders (and potential customers) expectations.”

“Moreover, the Gold and Silver awards motivates us to remain steadfast in our thrust to deliver long-term value to all our projects and to look towards more growth and expansion in the coming years,” Khoori added.

The Energy Space Awards aims to assist IDEA in determining growth and progress among its member companies and to act as a tool to spread awareness amongst the general public about the use and benefits of district energy.

Palm Utilities, through its two primary divisions of Palm District Cooling and Palm Water, has been established to address the region's unique requirements in the distinctly critical areas of cooling and water. With its aim of sustained long-term growth, Palm Utilities intends to pursue new core business activities within other utilities, including domestic gas, power distribution, sustainable energy and environmental waste management.

Palm District Cooling renews partnership with Barrel Energy

Palm District Cooling renews partnership with Barrel Energy

Move underscores Palm Utilities' commitment to support the development of small and medium enterprises in the UAE

May 05, 2009
Palm Utilities (PU), the water and district cooling utility service provider established by government-owned investment firm Istithmar, a major investment holding and part of the Dubai World group of companies, has announced that Palm District Cooling (PDC) has recently renewed its partnership with Barrel Energy L.L.C., a leading Dubai-based fuel supply management and lubricants service company. The move underscores PDC's strong commitment to support the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders, a government program that facilitates the development of business and entrepreneurial activity among UAE nationals, of which Barrel Energy is a member.

Barrel Energy has supplied over AED 100 million or nearly 7 million IG (Imperial Gallons) of fuel to PDC and has also delivered logistics management services to PDC's district cooling station since 2007, supporting the temporary cooling service provided to customers. At its peak, Barrel Energy delivered up to 1 million IG of fuel a month to PDC; the company has also served most of its project sites including Palm Jumeira, Discovery Gardens, and Jumeira Lake Towers, and has also been a key supplier of other government and non-government entities.

Mohammed Abulhoul, Founder and Managing Director, Barrel Energy L.L.C. said: "It is certainly an honour for us to be a business partner of Palm District Cooling, which has distinguished itself as a world-class provider of district cooling services in the country. Barrel Energy is fully committed to support Palm District Cooling in its growing business ventures across the UAE market by maintaining the highest quality standards in the delivery of our products and services."

Shafiq Khoori, Managing Director, Palm District Cooling said: "Barrel Energy has been a very dedicated and quality-oriented business partner of Palm District Cooling. We are thus pleased to renew our partnership with them as their professionalism and strong work ethic are important qualities that will help us further raise the standards of our services and consolidate our portfolio of high-stakes projects."

PDC currently provides district cooling services to several prestigious mega developments in the UAE, including the Gardens Residential Complex, Jumeirah Islands, Discovery Gardens and Palm Jumeirah Trunk. PDC is also renowned for being a socially responsible company and a leading innovator in the district cooling industry.

Palm Utilities, through PDC and Palm Water (PW), has been established to address the region's unique requirements in the distinctly critical areas of district cooling, and wastewater treatment. PU has revealed that it is exploring possible joint venture initiatives for other utility projects in the Middle East, India and across Asia as part of its growth strategy for 2009.

Palm District Cooling raises AED 519 million financing for future expansion

Palm District Cooling raises AED 519 million financing for future expansion

March 22, 2009

Palm District Cooling (PDC), a leading Dubai-based integrated provider of district cooling services, and a subsidiary of Palm Utilities, owned by Istithmar, a Dubai World group entity, has announced that it recently raised an AED 519 million bridge financing facility. This is in line with its growth strategy within the UAE.

Yousuf Kazim, Chief Executive Officer, Palm Utilities, said, “This financing commitment comes at a time when the region is experiencing severe liquidity constraints. It clearly validates the strength of our business model and the key role that PDC plays in helping to develop infrastructure in the UAE.”

The financing will be utilised for capital expenditure requirements of the company and is part of a wider financing strategy that will include accessing the syndicated loan and capital markets in the future.

“Raising finance in the present environment was challenging, but with the support of all the parties involved, we were able to get it done,” said Murtaza Chevel, Chief Financial Officer, Palm Utilities.

PDC specialises in Build-Own-Operate model of development offering design, construction, operation & maintenance services in the district cooling space and has pioneered the concept of using treated sewage effluent for its district cooling operations. The company’s current capacity 450,000 TR is expected to increase to 1 million TR over the next few years. Some of the key clients it currently services include developments such as the Palm Jumeirah Island, Discovery Gardens, Jumeirah Lake Towers and Ibn Battuta Mall.

Palm Utilities nominated for 'Membrane Desalination Plant of the Year' at GWI Global Water Awards 2009

Palm Utilities nominated for 'Membrane Desalination Plant of the Year' at GWI Global Water Awards 2009


Palm Water's Palm Jumeirah Crescent project cited for technological breakthrough that offers enormous potential for future projects in the region

March 17, 2009
Palm Utilities, a fully-owned subsidiary of Istithmar World PJSC, a major investment holding company incorporated in the Dubai World Group, has announced that Palm Water has been nominated for an award in the GWI Global Water Awards 2009, which will recognise outstanding achievers in 11 different categories during a special ceremony on April 27 at the Zurich Marriott Hotel, Switzerland. Palm Water's Palm Jumeirah Crescent project has been selected as one of the candidates of the Global Water Awards 2009's "Membrane Desalination Plant of the Year" category, having been recognised for its technological breakthrough and enormous potential for future seawater projects in the region.

The Palm Jumeirah Crescent project has been selected as one of the candidates for the prestigious award along with similar projects in Saudi Arabia, Australia and Spain. The nomination reaffirms Palm Utilities' strong reputation among its global peers after it was awarded the coveted "Water Deal of the Year" for Palm Water's Jumeirah Golf Estate project during last year's GWI Global Water Awards.

"Palm Water's nomination again reflects the successful growth strategies that Palm Utilities has implemented in 2008. Furthermore, it reassures our clients that we remain dedicated to provide world-class and premium-standard services and water solutions that are duly recognised and appreciated by our peers in the industry. This nomination is also an excellent way to recognise the efforts and hard work of all members of the Palm Jumeirah Project Team" said Mahmoud Al Hindi, Operations Director, Palm Water.

The Palm Jumeirah Crescent is the first of a pair of seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants in the Palm Jumeirah resort, which will have a combined capacity of 64,000m3/d. The project combines ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes in a design that has proven itself to be robust against tough environmental conditions.

The use of UF pre-treatment membranes for seawater desalination on a large scale in the Middle East was a significant technological breakthrough that was highlighted by the GWI Global Water Awards, as it offers enormous potential for future seawater projects in the region.

The GWI Global Water Awards recognises global efforts that address various challenges in the water sector. The winners of the Award are decided through free voting by subscribers of GWI, WDR and members of the International Desalination Association and International Private Water Association. Winners of this year's Awards will receive their prizes from former US Vice President Al Gore.

Other categories of the GWI Global Water Awards 2009 are Water Company of the year, Desalination Company of the year, Public Water Agency of the year, Water Deal of the year, Desalination Deal of the year, Water Project of the year, Thermal Desalination Plant of the year, Water Reuse Project of the Year, Industrial Water Project of the Year and Sustainability Award.

Palm Utilities, through its two primary divisions of Palm District Cooling and Palm Water, has been established to address the region's unique requirements in the distinctly critical areas of cooling and water. With its aim of sustained long-term growth, Palm Utilities intends to pursue new core business activities within other utilities, including domestic gas, power distribution, sustainable energy and environmental waste management.

Palm District Cooling pursues long-term strategic plan to leverage growing demand for economical cooling alternatives

Palm District Cooling pursues long-term strategic plan to leverage growing demand for economical cooling alternatives

Mega developments take advantage of cost-saving and pro-environmental qualities of PDC's cooling solution

February 26, 2009
Palm Utilities (PU), the water and district cooling utility service provider established by government-owned investment firm Istithmar, a major investment holding and part of the Dubai World group of companies, has recently announced that it has been actively promoting the strategic benefits delivered by Palm District Cooling's (PDC) world-class cooling solution as part of a campaign to consolidate its presence in the GCC and other key international markets. With recent studies by Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) predicting the regional market to grow by up to 8.3 million tonnes of refrigeration (TR) by 2015 from just 1.8 million TR in 2007, PDC has devised a long-term growth plan and complementary awareness campaign to promote district cooling as an economical solution for the region's increasing air conditioning requirements.

PDC currently provides district cooling services to a significant number of prestigious mega developments in the UAE, including the Gardens Residential Complex (25,000 TR), Jumeirah Islands (15,000 TR), Discovery Gardens (126,000 TR) and Palm Jumeirah Trunk (126,000 TR). Several developers all over the region are likewise increasingly deploying PDC's cost-efficient and environmentally friendly district cooling solutions.

Shafiq Khoori, Managing Director, PDC said: "Palm District Cooling is focusing its efforts on creating a sustainable development plan that will help us overcome the ongoing economic challenges and maintain our long-term growth prospects. We are also trying to leverage the growing interest towards our products and services as an increasing number of developers are beginning to appreciate the long-term benefits of district cooling solutions following PDC's successful deployment of district cooling facilities within a number of landmark developments in the UAE. Our new growth strategy ultimately aims to help our clients improve utility costs and maximise energy efficiency, which is one of the most important concerns among developers right now."

Other high-stakes projects that utilise PDC's district cooling solution are The Jumeirah Lake Towers (167,000 TR), Palm Jumeirah Crescent (124,000 TR), Jumeirah Village South (255,000 TR), International City (125,000 TR) and Dubai Maritime City (100,000 TR)

Wherever water resources are scarce and expensive, PDC utilises Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE) supplied by Palm Water (PW) – a strategic collaboration that results in reduced energy consumption, ultimately benefiting end-users and the entire community through lower utility costs and minimal environmental impact.

Palm Utilities, through PDC and PW, has been established to address the region's unique requirements in the distinctly critical areas of district cooling, and waste water treatment.