More district heating and lake water for the city of Zurich

The municipal energy plan shows in which area which energy sources make sense - analogous to the structure plan for settlement or traffic. Under the direction of the energy commissioner, the city of Zurich has completely revised its energy planning over the past two years and aligned it with the goals of the 2000-watt society. Following the city council, the construction directorate of the canton of Zurich has also approved the updated energy planning.
It is binding for the city council, the administration and the municipal energy suppliers. For landowners, the principle of free choice among the energy suppliers available at the site applies.
available energy sources.

Expansion of district heating supply
The city of Zurich wants to expand the district heating supply from the waste-to-energy plants by expanding and connecting the existing district heating networks of the Hagenholz and Josefstrasse power plants. If voters approve the planned new interconnector, the way will be cleared to supply the Milchbuck area, parts of Wipkingen and Oberstrass, the Gewerbeschul district and parts of Aussersihl from 2020 to around 2045. In the future, energy from the treated wastewater of the Werdhölzli sewage treatment plant will also be used. To this end, the city of Zurich is building a district heating supply in the center of Altstetten and parts of Höngg starting around 2020. There will still be no obligation to connect to the district heating network. For some properties in the expansion areas, however, new, attractive options for energy supply are opening up.

Using groundwater and lake water with energy connections
In the densely populated neighborhoods around the lake basin and in the bottom of the Limmat Valley, groundwater and lake water are to be used for heating and cooling purposes. These energy sources will be made available to as many property owners as possible in the form of energy networks. In this way, numerous buildings in Zurich are already supplied with environmentally friendly heat and cooling. The city of Zurich wants to initiate and promote further energy networks. The city's energy service providers, ewz and Energie 360°, and the city's energy consulting offices have an important role to play here.

Gas supply area unchanged
With the exception of Zurich North, the gas supply area will remain unchanged for the next 15 years. In the district heating areas, district heating has priority, so no more new gas connections are planned there. Exceptions are properties whose connection does not affect the economic efficiency of the district heating supply. However, gas plays an important role for peak load coverage in energy networks and in areas such as the old town, where decentralized supply with renewable energy is limited and it is not worthwhile to connect to district heating. The share of biogas in the gas mix is to increase from around 7 percent today to 45 percent by 2050. To ensure that potential improvements in the building envelope and energy efficiency are exploited, the city of Zurich offers advice on new connections to the district heating or gas network as part of its energy coaching program. This also includes information on decentralized solutions for individual buildings or neighborhood networks.

Source: City of Zurich