With operations commencing at See-Energie Zentrale Seefeld, the energy provider ewl (energie wasser luzern) is tapping further into the potential of the Lake Lucerne area. From this moment onwards, a total of 12 district hubs in Horw and Kriens are to be connected to the new headquarters. The CO2-neutral heating network will supply the buildings there with heating, cooling and hot water in the future.
The ewl subsidiary Seenergy Luzern AG is investing a substantial total of 95 million Swiss francs in this project. Of this figure, around 11 million Swiss francs have been earmarked for the construction of the See-Energie headquarters. Once completed, the plan is to produce 55 gigawatt hours of energy per year using lake water. This corresponds to the supply of around 6,800 households with heating and cooling, resulting in savings of up to 10,000 tons of CO2 on an annual basis.
Of the approximately 12 billion cubic meters of water in Lake Lucerne, ewl uses 0.333 percent to supply heating. As the energy provider explained in the press release, up to 25 percent of this volume is useable without any negative environmental impacts, according to the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag).
