immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Fernwärme

  • Energie Ausserschwyz increases capital for district heating expansion

    Energie Ausserschwyz increases capital for district heating expansion

    In a media release,Energie Ausserschwyz announced the result of a capital increase of CHF 25.5 million completed at the end of September to expand the district heating network. The investors are the main shareholder EW Höfe AG and the 100-member Ausserschwyz Energy Cooperative.

    With the new funds, the energy provider is initially aiming for an accelerated expansion in the direction of Pfäffikon, it says. District heating pipelines are to be laid to the Ausserschwyz Cantonal School in Pfäffikon and to the centres of Lachen and Altendorf. Further expansion plans for the existing district heating network concern additional areas at the energy provider’s headquarters in Galgenen.

    On the initiative of Energie Ausserschwyz, a district heating network has been under construction in the districts of March and Höfe since 2021. From the energy centre, properties in Galgenen, Siebnen, Lachen, Altendorf and Pfäffikon are to receive their heat from renewable sources such as wood chips and biomass. In 2023, district heating infrastructure worth 20 million Swiss francs was installed. Further expansion plans call for total investments of 15 million francs in 2024.

    With the capital increase, Energie Ausserschwyz is also reacting to the inflation in construction costs, interest rates and raw material prices, the company says. “The business model of district heating means that considerable upfront investments have to be made in the expansion of the network before heat can flow and be sold. The higher the inflation, the more cost-intensive these upfront investments are

  • Heating control from Yuon Control saves 20 percent energy

    Heating control from Yuon Control saves 20 percent energy

    The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts has proven that the Yuon ONE heating control system from the start-up Yuon Control from Oberburg reduces the consumption of heating energy by an average of 20 per cent. Yuon Control and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts are working on a project to lay the foundations for efficient and intelligent control for heating systems, according to a media release. It is being funded by the Innosuisse Innovation Promotion Agency.

    Yuon Control AG says it has developed Yuon ONE, a predictive, self-learning heating control system that helps to heat more intelligently and save costs. It is thus also able to optimise the utilisation in district heating networks.

    The Assessment research group, led by Professor Dr Philipp Schütz at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts’ Competence Centre for Thermal Energy Storage, tested this in seven buildings in the Bern and Lucerne regions, ranging from only moderately insulated houses from the 1970s to modern Minergie houses. The heating was regulated alternately for a fortnight with the Yuon control device and with a traditional control device without optimisation. The test persons turned off the heating via the Yuon app during absences. This increased the savings to as much as 23 per cent, they say. At the same time, a reduction in CO2 emissions was observed in all building types.

    According to the study, Yuon ONE is suitable for new and old buildings, regardless of the type of heating and the age of the building. Machine learning-based software takes into account the respective building characteristics such as thermal capacity, passive solar yields and tightness. “The innovation is that the system automatically learns the behaviour of the building, its thermal properties,” Dr Sebastian Hersberger, co-CEO of Yuon, is quoted as saying. In addition, the system incorporates the weather forecast from MeteoSwiss.

  • Wetzikon votes for the district heating network

    Wetzikon votes for the district heating network

    On 3 September, the voters of Wetzikon approved the foundation of Fernwärme Wetzikon AG. The district heating network with waste heat recovery will supply up to 50 per cent of Wetzikon households with CO2-neutral energy from 2025. According to a press release, the energy service provider Energie 360° and the town of Wetzikon will be joint shareholders in the new public limited company with 40 and 60 percent respectively.

    The new public limited company will conclude long-term heating contracts with the Wetzikon wastewater treatment plant and the Zürcher Oberland waste incineration plant (KEZO). The district heating is to be brought from the KEZO Hinwil to Wetzikon via a transport pipeline and distributed to the households from there. The energy centre is planned at the Wetzikon open-air swimming pool.

    “With energy networks, it is important to use locally available heat sources,” Romeo Deplazes of Energie 360° is quoted as saying. “In Wetzikon, district heating from waste recycling is available, which is ideal.”

    “The sooner we can realise district heating Wetzikon, the better,” thinks councillor Heinrich Vettiger. “This way we become less dependent on fossil fuels from abroad and use regional waste heat that accumulates anyway.” With its many years of experience and sound expertise, Energie 360° is the ideal partner.

    According to its own information, the energy service provider is already building and operating energy networks with lake water utilisation for various communities and companies around Lake Zurich. In Dielsdorf ZH, waste heat from data centres will be used to supply up to 3,500 households with heat in the future.

  • WWZ expands district heating business

    WWZ expands district heating business

    The WWZ Group is observing rising demand for district heating and cooling. The corresponding business area increased its sales by 15 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2023, the Zug-based energy, telecoms and water supplier informs in a statement. In the half year under review, the group was able to connect further properties to its Circulago and Ennetsee energy networks.

    In the future, WWZ plans to further expand this promising business area. A feasibility study for a heating network has already been carried out in Steinhausen, and the group is currently working on a feasibility study with the municipality of Baar. Investments in district heating and district cooling did “temporarily lead to higher operating costs, but the investments will pay off in the medium term with stable cash flows”, writes WWZ.

    In the first half of 2023, the expansion of the district heating and district cooling business also increased the company’s operating costs by almost 4 per cent. The operating result nevertheless increased by 27 per cent to CHF 13.6 million. The background to this is a year-on-year increase of 24 percent to 166.5 million Swiss francs in net revenues from deliveries and services. At 15.7 million Swiss francs, net profit was 8.4 million Swiss francs higher than in the first half of 2022.

  • City council plans reorganisation of heat supply

    City council plans reorganisation of heat supply

    So far, there are three municipal providers of heating networks on city territory: Elektrizitätswerk ewz, Entsorgung + Recycling Zürich (ERZ) and Energie 360° AG. All large-scale heating networks are now to be united under the umbrella of ewz. Through their joint efforts to achieve the city’s net zero targets, the three providers of district heating networks have intensified their cooperation in recent years. Then, about two years ago, the city council formalised this cooperation by establishing the Wärme Zürich office. Since then, Wärme Zürich has been coordinating the expansion of the networks of the three providers. Currently, it is being examined whether the existing heating networks can also be physically connected to each other, so that an overall network is gradually created on city territory, which further increases the security of supply. The planned reorganisation takes these changes into account and represents the next integration stage in the area of heat supply.

    Implementation plan in progress
    A project headed by City Council members Michael Baumer (Head of the Department of Industrial Operations), Simone Brander (Head of the Department of Civil Engineering and Waste Disposal) and Andreas Hauri (Head of the Department of Health and Environment) will show in an implementation plan by the end of the year how and in what timeframe such a reorganisation can take place. The consultation with the staff associations will also take place during this period.

    Integration of ERZ’s district heating activities
    ERZ’s district heating activities will be integrated into ewz. The implementation plan will show how the integration of the district heating activities is to be structured and how and when the employees concerned are to transfer from ERZ to ewz. The experts from ERZ will play a decisive role in shaping the new organisation with their knowledge and many years of experience in the heating sector.

    New prospects for Energie 360°
    Energie 360° will also transfer part of its heating networks in the city of Zurich to ewz, with the employees remaining with Energie 360°. Ownership and operation of the gas grid and all other activities will remain with Energie 360°. Energie 360° is a joint-stock company owned by the public sector. The main owner is the city of Zurich. The company’s strategy of driving forward the transformation throughout Switzerland and supplying exclusively renewable energy by 2040 will be maintained. As the focus of Energie 360°’s activities will shift even more to activities outside the city in the future, the city council wants to offer the company new perspectives and open up the field for cooperation. In order to gain more freedom of action, the city council’s authority to sell shares in this company is to be extended.

  • AEW installs district heating at Mutschellen

    AEW installs district heating at Mutschellen

    The Aargau energy supplier AEW Energie has plans to build a heating centre for the Mutschellen area on the Sika factory site in Widen, according to a media release. Private and municipal consumers in the heating network around the Mutschellen Pass are to be supplied with sustainable energy via a district heating network. The communities of Widen, Berikon AG and Rudolfstetten-Friedlisberg AG are connected.

    The local heating concept envisages predominantly regionally grown wood to generate the heat. The installation of modern, low-emission plant technology is intended to prevent the formation of a steam plume.

    Letters of intent have been signed with Sika Schweiz AG, the Turidomus investment foundation and other owners. The interest of the population in a district heating solution is being ascertained by means of a survey.

  • WWZ geht Fernwärmenetz in Rotkreuz an

    WWZ geht Fernwärmenetz in Rotkreuz an

    WWZ leitet die Bauarbeiten für ein Fernwärmenetz im Zentrum von Rotkreuz ein, informiert der Zuger Energie-, Telekom- und Wasserversorger in einer Mitteilung. Dabei werden ab der bestehenden Fernwärmeleitung in der Waldetenstrasse weitere Quartiere im Gebiet Waldetenstrasse, Meierskappelerstrasse, Waldeggstrasse und Buonaserstrasse an den Wärmeverbund Ennetsee angeschlossen. Die Bauarbeiten sollen bis Sommer 2024 abgeschlossen sein.

    Im Wärmeverbund Ennetsee soll die gleichnamige Region im Kanton Zug mit Abwärme aus der Kehrichtverbrennungsanlage in Perlen versorgt werden. Damit könnten in den Gebieten Rotkreuz, Bösch, Hünenberg-See, Cham, Städtler Allmend und Äussere Lorzenallmend, Zug und Steinhausen jährlich rund 12’000 Tonnen CO2-Emissionen vermieden werden, erläutert WWZ in der Mitteilung. Das Unternehmen hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, „möglichst schnell viele Haushaltungen, Büros und Geschäfte des Gebietes Ennetsee mit CO2-freier Fernwärme zu versorgen, um die Abhängigkeit von fossiler Primärenergie in der Region zu reduzieren“.

    Während der Bauarbeiten wird es im Zentrum von Rotkreuz zu Änderungen in der Verkehrsführung und punktuellen Behinderungen für Verkehrsteilnehmende kommen. In der Mitteilung werden die geplanten Massnahmen detailliert beschrieben.

  • The city wants to use synergies with the expansion of district heating

    The city wants to use synergies with the expansion of district heating

    Since 2020, Energie Wasser Bern has been working on expanding the district heating network from the energy center in the Forsthaus. By 2035, 36 kilometers of main lines are to be laid in the existing roads. The district heating project is of central importance for achieving the goals of the municipal energy plan and is one of the largest infrastructure projects in recent decades.

    Based on initial experiences in the Länggasse district, the municipal council intends to consistently use the district heating project for improvements in the interests of the population. If the street space is broken up for the laying of the lines, urban climate measures such as unsealing and planting of street and square surfaces, improvements for biodiversity, water retention or seepage should be implemented. At the same time, the municipal council wants to increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists and for school children. In addition, urban drainage measures are to be implemented underground and, where appropriate, traffic signal systems are to be optimised.

    Loan application is being prepared

    To implement these measures, the municipal council is planning an investment loan of CHF 35 million. This loan is also intended to finance the necessary positions in the Directorate for Civil Engineering, Transport and City Green (a total of 5 additional project manager positions). After completion of the district heating project, the additional job budget will be reduced again through natural fluctuation. In view of the highly competitive market for skilled workers, the district heating expansion that has already started and the long lead times for construction projects, the municipal council has authorized the responsible directorate to advertise the positions now.

    The corresponding loan proposal is now being prepared and is expected to be submitted to voters in the city of Bern in June 2023.

  • Builder and Energie 360° team up for district heating

    Builder and Energie 360° team up for district heating

    A community connection to the district heating system is currently being built in Wipkingen. Architect Lucas Schwarz provides the necessary space for this in his newly built apartment building. Energie 360° takes care of the rest, according to the Zurich energy supplier in a report on its website. According to this, the advantage of a local network is that not every property has to be connected individually to the district heating network. More than 60 percent of homeowners would have to get involved in order for it to be worthwhile to develop a neighborhood with district heating. The more heat is supplied, the cheaper it will be for everyone.

    Schwarz is convinced that such a community connection will not only pay off ecologically but also financially in the long term: “I see the biggest advantages over heating in the small space requirement, the simple building services and the lower maintenance.” The energy verification is also simplified. In addition, the price of energy in thermal networks remains constant over the years. “That gives me more planning security and independence.” And last but not least, building owners received better financing conditions from banks thanks to certification in the canton’s building energy certificate.

    It is about completing the transformation from fossil fuels to sustainable heating energies “as quickly as possible”, Schwarz is quoted as saying. He wishes “that the entire city of Zurich will be heated sustainably by 2050. In my opinion, the expansion of the district heating network is progressing too slowly.”

  • Solothurn receives a new waste incineration plant

    Solothurn receives a new waste incineration plant

    Kebag in Zuchwil disposes of 221,000 tons of waste annually and supplies the region with district heating and electricity. It is the third largest waste recycling company in Switzerland. 85 percent of the waste comes from the 1,178 municipalities in the cantons of Bern and Solothurn. However, the plant will be 50 years old in 2025 – and will thus reach its age limit. In order to ensure environmentally friendly disposal in the future, a new system is essential. Because with increasing age, failures increase, which lead to expensive business interruptions and disposal bottlenecks, as the company writes on its website.

    The company in Emmenspitz is already the largest electricity producer in the region. Throughout Switzerland, the largest proportion of electrical energy is obtained from the rubbish. The planned plant, called Kebag Enova, will in future be able to generate up to 15 percent more energy from the same amount of waste thanks to the latest technology. A special fabric filter and multi-stage flue gas cleaning lead to an almost complete reduction in pollutants. The investment costs amount to between CHF 450 and 500 million. But the new building cannot be implemented without any compromises: 11,000 square meters of forest had to be cleared. As compensation, Kebag is providing the same amount of replacement afforestation at other locations in the canton of Solothurn.
    The company TBF + Partner AG from Zurich was commissioned with the planning mandate. Penzel Valier AG won the architecture competition in 2017. The Kebag Enova will have two instead of four incineration lines. Larger furnace lines are planned for this, which ensure greater energy efficiency. The building envelope is fitted with solar panels, making it currently the largest photovoltaic facade system in Switzerland. The chimney is attached to the side of the building and rises 80 meters in height. There is a viewing room at the top of this concrete shaft.

    One or the other challenge had to be overcome beforehand: A significant change had to be made in 2018 to the cooling. The kebag has always used river water cooling. Cooling is essential so that electricity can be generated and the steam required for this can be used. Due to the revised Water Protection Ordinance, which came into force in mid-2018, the decision was made to use air instead of river water cooling for the new building. In addition, a test showed that the subsoil was not stable enough for the Kebag Enova. Thanks to a pile and slab foundation, this problem could also be solved.

    The planning application was finally submitted in 2019. The groundbreaking took place on May 7, 2020. Commissioning is planned for the beginning of 2025.

  • ESB promotes conversion to district heating

    ESB promotes conversion to district heating

    At the beginning of the month, ESB launched a program to promote a connection to heating networks in Biel, the energy company informed in a message . With this, ESB wants to support the Biel climate strategy, it says there. In particular, ESB wants to contribute to the city's goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050.

    Most of the buildings in the city of Biel are currently heated with fossil fuels, writes ESB. Switching to district heating therefore has "high potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions". In order to reach as many property owners as possible, funding for connection to a district heating network is granted regardless of the current energy source.

    Applicants must meet a number of requirements for a contribution to the connection costs, as explained in the communication. On the one hand, the property in question must be located in the area of the city of Biel and be connected to a heating network that is operated with at least 80 percent renewable energies or waste heat. On the other hand, the heating energy must be drawn from the heating network as soon as it is available. Cold connections are therefore excluded from funding. In the case of a connection also funded by the canton of Bern, the ESB grant will also be reduced by the cantonal grant.

  • WWZ Group defies the pandemic

    WWZ Group defies the pandemic

    According to a statement from the WWZ Group , the Zug-based energy, telecommunications and water supplier generated total net sales of CHF 227.6 million in the 2020 financial year. In a year-on-year comparison, this corresponds to a marginal decrease of 0.3 percent.

    "Despite the corona pandemic, WWZ was largely able to achieve its goals," CEO Andreas Widmer is quoted as saying in the press release. "Although energy sales fell as a result of the lockdown and the warm weather, we were still able to keep net sales at the previous year's level." In addition, the group has pushed ahead with "expanding our strategic growth areas", explains Widmer.

    The CEO particularly points out the area of district heating. In the year under review, the group's flagship project, Circulago, put the first district headquarters into operation. Circulago uses the energy of the Zug lake water to generate heat and cold.

    In the year under review, WWZ invested a total of 87.0 million francs in maintaining the infrastructure and expanding district heating and telecommunications networks. As a result of these high investments and increased depreciation, the operating result at EBIT level fell by 10.8 percent year-on-year, explains WWZ. Specifically, an operating result of 37.4 million francs was achieved. At 39.0 million francs, consolidated profit was 19.1 percent lower than in the previous year.

    For the current year, the group assumes that investments, operating costs and depreciation will remain high. "The transition from fossil natural gas to renewable district heating and the establishment of further growth areas will temporarily burden the income statement," explains WWZ CFO Andreas Ronchetti Salomon. However, the group is well equipped to continue its strategic development “even under difficult conditions”.

  • Geneva expands network for the use of lake water

    Geneva expands network for the use of lake water

    The Geneva public utility company SIG is laying new district heating pipes in the La Jonction district. 90 buildings are to be connected to the Genilac district heating network by 2025, the SIG wrote in a press release . Of these, 30 buildings are used by the city and the canton of Geneva. Genilac fully supplies the connected buildings with heating and cooling from Lake Geneva. The extension in La Jonction saves 10,600 tons of CO2.

    In total, Genilac is expected to deliver around 1150 gigawatt hours of cooling and 150 gigawatt hours of heat per year by 2030. By 2050, Genilac should help to reduce CO2 emissions in the canton by 70,000 tons. "Genilac is an important infrastructure with which CO2 emissions in the canton of Geneva are to be reduced and global warming is to be tackled", SIG General Director Christian Brunier is quoted in the press release.

  • Green asphalt permanently removes CO2 from the air

    Green asphalt permanently removes CO2 from the air

    In Dornbirn, as part of the expansion of the district heating network, new asphalt is being laid on a stretch of road. So-called green asphalt is used for the first time. 1.7 percent charcoal from the production of theEnergieWerk Ilg is added to the asphalt. This allows the carbon contained in the charcoal to be stored and the CO2 formed with it to be permanently removed from the atmosphere. The company is thus improving its carbon footprint.

    A first test mixture was installed on September 24th, according to a message from EnergieWerk Ilg. If this mixture meets expectations, a test section of 30 meters is to be laid on October 14th and 15th.

    If the pilot project in the state of Vorarlberg is successful, roads can become new CO2 sinks. Asphalt can contain around 5 percent of such additives on average. This means that 100,000 tons of asphalt could soon permanently remove well over 10,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.

    The pilot project is supported by a number of partners. The asphalt is manufactured by Migu Asphalt in Lustenau, which intends to use it to introduce a new product and strengthen its market position. The technology for producing the charcoal comes from the Syncraft company in Schwaz in the state of Tyrol. EnergieWerk Ilg, which supplies the admixture, has already been climate-neutral and can become climate-positive with this product. The city of Dornbirn is profiling itself as a model region for the energy transition .

    Hans-Peter Schmidt from the Ithaka Institute in Arbaz VS advises the project. Carbonfuture GmbH in Freiburg i.Br. certifies carbon storage. This means that certificates for the removal of carbon from the atmosphere can be issued and the green asphalt can be co-financed.

    The project was initiated by the European Biochar Industry ( EBI ) consortium. EBI wants to create and establish new, verifiable and certifiable CO2 sinks with charcoal and biochar.