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The first phase of the project has witnessed a large number of government entities signing up for the initiative. The unique project is being rolled out across the country under the patronage of the Ministry of Water and Environment, Government of UAE.

The project, harnesses the information, communication, technology (ICT) enabled M2M (machine-to-machine) technology from Etisalat, to substantially reduce energy consumption for organizations, with an aim to bring down the carbon footprint of the country by at least 20 per cent by 2015. The initiative champions the cause of improving energy efficiency in existing buildings thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint.

Commenting on the program, from Mr. Abdulla Ebrahim Al Ahmed, Senior Vice President, Business Solutions at Etisalat said: “UAE has a significant carbon footprint, due to unabated energy consumption that is creating immense ecological, social and environmental pressure. The ‘Emirates Energy Star’ program will leverage on M2M based technologies, to effectively help reduce the carbon footprint of the country through efficient energy consumption management. Through this transformational and innovative initiative, both Etisalat and Pacific Controls are doing their bit for the environment, and encouraging other organizations to think about sustainable development.”

Mr. Dilip Rahulan, Executive Chairman, Pacific Control Systems, said: “We are pleased with the support we have received for Emirates Energy Star project so far. It is heartening to note that the decision makers in both the public and private sectors in the UAE understand the importance of reducing energy consumption levels, and the challenges ahead. This unique initiative will not only help reduce the overall carbon footprint of the UAE but also will put us in norm with international guidelines on such emissions.”

All Etisalat clients, who are building owners, contractors, real-estate companies, government entities, and infrastructure owners like utilities and airports, can collaborate and leverage the resources of the Emirates Energy Star offerings. Using Etisalat networks and Pacific Controls Command Control Center, the Emirates Energy Star initiative will optimize their operations, reduce their utilities consumption and service costs, increase the running efficiency of their assets and have the capability to remotely manage them in real time.

The Emirates Energy Star program will help building owners with an initial audit that would identify potential Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs). The program will design ECMs for individual buildings; establish minimum costs; calculate the maximum energy savings; implement the project parameters as contractor; provide on-going monitoring and identification of project performance after completion; and carry out measurement and verification of carbon footprint of buildings in real time.

The Emirates Energy Star, project’s rating system, is being bestowed on participating building owners. It comprises of five successive levels, based on the energy efficiency improvements achieved through the Energy Star Program, beginning with a one star for a minimum of 10 per cent and ending with five stars for 30 per cent and above.

Apart from the obvious cost savings for the end user in the form of lower energy utility bills, the Emirates Energy Star program helps decrease pollution, water consumption and resultant waste. The building owners will be able to recover their investment towards the program from the savings that they make. The payback period for the building owner is in the range of 18-24 months depending upon the STAR rating the client opts. Due to compelling ROI the uptake of this program is expected to be high.