Operations commence at new heat station in Emmen
Emmen - The utility Energie Wasser Luzern (ewl) has opened its new heat station at the RUAG location in Emmen. The plant is set to offer an output of 22 gigawatt hours per year. A total of 31 million Swiss francs is being invested in expanding the district heating network in Emmen.
On Tuesday, April 4, the utility Energie Wasser Luzern (ewl) opened its new heat station, which is housed at the site of the RUAG armaments factory in Emmen in the canton of Lucerne. According to a press release, ewl expects annual heat sales of around 22 gigawatt hours when the system is ultimately expanded to full capacity. This corresponds to the heating requirements of around 2,200 four-person households. As a result, a total of around 4,600 tons of CO2 could be saved across the region each year, ewl writes in the press release.
The opening of the Emmen Dorf heat station was handled by Fernwärme Luzern AG, a subsidiary of ewl Luzern, together with RUAG Real Estate, which granted the building rights, and representatives of the municipality of Emmen. It is described as an important milestone in the efforts aimed at expanding the regional district heating network, for which Fernwärme Luzern AG is investing roughly 31 million francs overall in Emmen Dorf. An additional sum of around 8 million francs is being put towards the new headquarters, including buildings and systems.
“The building rights to Fernwärme Luzern AG and the completion of this heating center are the basic requirements for RUAG to make a major ecological step – i.e., connecting to the district heating network from the 2023/24 heating period. For RUAG, this will result in a reduction of around 2,000 tons of CO2 per year”, as Matthias Hauswirth, Chief Real Estate Officer at RUAG, explains.
After construction work started in February 2022, delivery difficulties in the wake of the Ukraine war resulted in delays and a great deal of uncertainty, according to comments from Patrik Rust, Chairman of the Board of Directors at ewl, in a press release. The fact that the project was completed on schedule is thanks to a huge effort, effective cooperation and a constructive exchange between the planning team, construction companies and RUAG Real Estate as the entity granting the building rights.
