Alternative location for energy centre in Zurich
The popular Selnau power station could be used by hundreds of thousands of people in future instead of just serving as an energy centre: A study by respected experts shows that there are sensible alternative underground locations to place the energy centre in Zurich. If the energy centre were built under the university quarter, CO2 emissions could even be reduced to zero.
The feasibility study conducted by the Swiss Center of Applied Underground Technologies in collaboration with Amberg Engineering AG, Rapp AG and experts from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts has confirmed that there are underground locations in Zurich that are suitable for an energy centre. The focus is particularly on the construction of a cavern beneath the ETH machine laboratory. The disused Latentunnel could be used as an access shaft to ensure access without serious emissions.
It would also be possible to use the Latvian tunnel as a location for a heat storage facility. According to the HSLU experts, all of CoolCity’s CO2 emissions could be avoided in this way. This would enable the city to achieve its climate targets more effectively than with the Selnau site, where the combustion of gas is planned to compensate for peak loads and excess heat would have to be discharged into the Limmat.
An underground site also has advantages in terms of rapid realisation and costs. In contrast to the Selnau site, the location under the ETH does not require any permits from the monument protection authorities and minimises the impact on the groundwater. The SCAUT engineers estimate the additional costs for the construction of an energy centre at CHF 15 to 30 million compared to the Selnau substation, plus around CHF 20 million for a heat storage facility. However, this is offset by the advantages of a large above-ground building that can be used for decades, as well as the climatic and environmental benefits of an underground structure.