immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Luft

  • Zurich cantonal parliament approves runway extension

    Zurich cantonal parliament approves runway extension

    Flughafen Zürich AG wants to extend Runway 28 by 400 metres to the west and Runway 32 by 280 metres to the north. With this project, the airport wants to implement the conclusions of the 2012 safety review of Zurich Airport(SÜFZ) by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation. The extension of the runways is intended to increase the stability of air traffic in all weather conditions and for all types of aircraft.

    According to a press release, the Zurich Cantonal Council approved the extension on 28 August with a narrow majority of 87 to 83 votes, with two abstentions. The SVP, FDP, Mitte and EVP voted in favour of the proposal, while the other parties rejected it.

    Zurich Airport is pleased with the decision, as it writes in a statement. The longer runways would increase braking distances and reduce crossing points on the ground and in the air. More stable operations would reduce the number of delays as well as those affected by aircraft noise. “There are no alternative measures in flight operations that would bring the same improvements in terms of safety and reduction of delays,” the statement says. The number of flight movements, on the other hand, would remain the same.

    The Zurich Chamber of Commerce(ZHK) also welcomes the decision of the cantonal council. “Zurich Airport is of great economic importance for the greater Zurich area and for the entire country,” it writes in a statement. “To ensure Zurich’s international connectivity with the world in the long term, the airport must be able to adapt to changing circumstances.” ZHK Director Regine Sauter had already campaigned in advance for approval by the cantonal parliament. “The runway extensions bring multiple benefits: Residents benefit from more peace and quiet at night, and Zurich as a business location can count on a punctual airport and reliable connections to the world in the long term,” she is now quoted as saying in the ZHK release.

    The cantonal council’s decision is subject to an optional referendum, so the electorate is likely to have the final say. Only then can the airport submit an application for planning permission to the federal government.

  • Five technologies on the way to net zero

    Five technologies on the way to net zero

    The TA-Swiss study aims to inform policy-makers and the public about the opportunities, limits and risks of different methods for CO2 extraction and storage. Aspects such as feasibility, climate effectiveness, costs, resource consumption and impacts on the environment and population were considered.

    The five technologies are:

    • the storage of CO2 as biomass in forests and the use of wood
    • storage in the form of humus in the soil and the use of plant carbon
    • capture and storage of CO2 from biomass combustion (BECCS)
    • removal from the air and storage (DACCS)
    • the accelerated weathering of demolition concrete and rock (carbonation)

    Each of the five NETs was assessed based on the current state of knowledge and with the help of expert interviews. Potential opportunities, risks, synergies and conflicts were identified and considered from a system perspective. Based on this, general and specific, technology-related options for action and recommendations were derived and reflected on together with selected stakeholders.

    The most important general recommendations of the study
    In order for NET’s contribution to the net-zero target to be implemented in an environmentally and socially compatible manner, politics and society should address the issue at an early stage. This requires in particular that the public is involved in shaping the conditions of use of NET by means of fact-based and comprehensible information.

    There is a need for an overarching strategy for the use of limited resources, such as renewable energy, water, biomass and soil, and for financing for the development and implementation of NET.

    Further research is needed to determine the potential of the different technologies.

    It must be possible to record the amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere in the long term in a transparent and simple way to create a reliable assessment framework and avoid counting the same CO2 more than once.

    The minimum period of CO2 fixation from which a technology or NET project is recognised in terms of the Climate Strategy should be reflected.

    NETs can only be used as a supplement to the priority reduction of greenhouse gas emissions when achieving the net zero target. Therefore, it is important that separate targets apply to the reduction of CO2 emissions and to CO2 removal.

    Switzerland currently has a pioneering role in the development of NET. This competitive advantage should be further strengthened by promoting the relevant research and development, as well as demonstration projects.

  • Canton of Zurich launches new shop for geodata

    Canton of Zurich launches new shop for geodata

    The Office for Spatial Development of the Canton of Zurich has developed a shop for geodata . According to a press release , users receive free access to spatial data in the canton of Zurich and can order them at the touch of a button.

    With the new shop solution, use-restricted, i.e. non-open data is now also being added. Previously, cantonal geodata sets were available to users free of charge as open authority data via the GIS browser maps.zh.ch or a geoservice and could only be called up manually.

    A total of over 500 products from the geographic information system can be viewed and ordered in the geodata shop, including data on buildings, air, noise and climate. Later, data on buildings and land, so-called object data from the ObjektwesenZH platform, will also be added.

  • Climeworks removes CO2 from the air in Iceland

    Climeworks removes CO2 from the air in Iceland

    Climeworks , the Reykjavik energy supplier ON Power and the Icelandic company Carbfix have agreed to combine their technologies for capturing CO2 from the air and for its permanent storage. Climeworks and Carbfix describe these agreements in their respective media releases as “groundbreaking” as well as a “milestone in the fight against climate change” and “turning point in climate protection”: “For the first time, the technologies for a project of this magnitude to remove carbon dioxide from the air combined with each other ”, it says there. The new facility will permanently remove 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the air every year.

    At the site of the third largest geothermal power plant in the world, the Icelandic Hellisheiði, Climeworks is building systems for the separation of CO2 from the air. The Direct Air Capture Technology (DAC) from Climeworks is used for this. The geothermal energy and heat provided by ON Power ensures that DAC technology has a constant supply of renewable energy.

    The Climeworks agreement with Carbfix ensures the safe and permanent storage of carbon dioxide through natural underground mineralization. According to Carbfix , the underground basalt rock formations in Iceland offer ideal conditions for this process.

    "This collaboration with ON and Carbfix is a big step forward," said Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks, in a press release from Climeworks. "We can reach net zero."

    ON Power is “immensely proud of this collaboration” between ON, Carbfix and Climeworks. It shows "how innovative projects can come together to create and expand one of the solutions to global warming". The company is pleased to "support the work of Climework in the future".