CLP, Chinachem tout Hong Kong’s first ‘zero-carbon’ air-conditioning system, with emissions offset by mainland wind farm
- CLP will upgrade the air-conditioning system at Chinachem’s Nina Tower complex in Tsuen Wan to a water-cooled, AI-controlled system
- The developer expects the new system to reduce electricity consumption by more than half compared to the existing system
CLP Holdings is designing a water-cooled air-conditioning system for a Chinachem Group building, billing it as the first “zero-carbon” chiller system in Hong Kong because its carbon footprint will be offset by a renewable-energy project in mainland China.
The group, through wholly-owned unit CLPe, signed an agreement on Tuesday to upgrade the air-conditioning system at the 180,000-square-metre Nina Tower complex in Tsuen Wan. The new water-cooled system, controlled by artificial intelligence (AI), will improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, the companies said.
Chinachem will source green-electricity certificates from CLP matching the energy consumption of the new chiller plant at Nina Tower, which comprises a hotel, office space and shopping centre.
Each certificate represents a certain volume of electricity generated from CLP’s Xundian II Wind Farm in southern Yunnan province in mainland China, which has a capacity of 50 megawatts and is slated to begin operation by June.
“We have strong commitment on both sides to reduce the energy being consumed,” said Alex Keisser, managing director of CLPe. “The effort being done by Chinachem to enable the zero-carbon [system], and us to guarantee this performance over the long term, can really make cooling activity free of CO2 impact.”
