immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Wasserressourcen

  • Switzerland’s first low-pressure turbine commissioned in Martigny-Bourg

    Switzerland’s first low-pressure turbine commissioned in Martigny-Bourg

    The Forces Motrices de Martigny-Bourg (FMMB) have commissioned Switzerland’s first low-pressure turbine. As Alpiq writes in a press release, 850,000 kilowatt hours of electricity can now be generated per year in the underwater channel of the river power plant on the Dranse. The power plant’s current three production units generate 89 million kilowatt hours per year.

    Depending on the flow rate, the low-pressure turbine can turbine between 1.25 and 10.2 cubic metres of water per second. It is designed for a head of up to 2.5 metres. It has no additional impact on the environment and does not affect existing electricity production. “The installation of this new low-pressure turbine makes it possible to make the best possible use of the available water resources while at the same time being considerate of the environment,” said power plant manager Georges-Alain Zuber in the press release.

    Planning for the plant began in 2011. It is being subsidised with funds from the cost-covering feed-in remuneration.

    The power plant was built in 1908 as an electricity generator for Electro-Chimie de Paris. Today, the municipalities of Bovernier with 23.04 per cent, Sembrancher with 18.72 per cent, Martigny with 17.22 per cent, Martigny-Combe with 15.58 per cent and Vollèges with 1.64 per cent as well as Alpiq with 18 per cent and the Valais energy supplier FMV with 5.8 per cent have a stake in FMMB.

  • Holcim wants to strengthen water resources and biodiversity

    Holcim wants to strengthen water resources and biodiversity

    According to its own statements, Holcim is the first company in the construction industry to commit itself to measurable positive effects on biodiversity and more ecological water management. At the same time, the group wants to bring more nature into the cities.

    According to a press release , Holcim aims to reduce the water intensity in all product lines by 2030. A reduction of 33 percent is to be achieved in the production of cement. It should be 20 percent for aggregates and 15 percent for ready-mixed concrete. The building materials company promises to replenish fresh water in water-endangered areas by 2030: 75 percent of the locations should be “water-positive” by then. In addition, Holcim intends to equip 100 percent of all locations with water recycling systems during the same period.

    Holcim also wants to achieve measurable positive effects on biodiversity. The group wants to orient itself on the reporting system for biodiversity indicators (Biodiversity Indicator and Reporting System, BIRS ) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN . Rehabilitation plans should be available for all quarries by around 2022. The BIRS principles for all cultivated areas should be fulfilled by 2024. In addition, the use of solutions such as the water-permeable Holcim concrete Hydromedia and green roof systems for more livable cities is to be accelerated.

    Eva Zabey, Executive Director at Business for Nature , praises Holcim for these ambitious goals. They could “lead to scalable changes both in the building materials sector and in industry as a whole.” All ecosystems and societies are dependent on such measures and obligations from companies.