ARA Thunersee plans folding solar roof on the sewage treatment plant
ARA Thunersee is planning a folding solar roof on the roof of its wastewater treatment plant. In the future, it wants to use it to produce up to a third of its own electricity needs. The folding roof is to be supplied by the Grisons-based company dhp technology. A smaller solar plant is already being built.
ARA Thunersee wants to expand the production of renewable energy. According to its annual report, which has just been published, it is planning a large folding solar roof system on the roof of the pre-treatment and biology basins. The folding solar roof is to be supplied by dhp technology AG in Zizers GR.
The system is to be installed on an area of 20,000 square metres with a capacity of 3,000 kilowatt peak and an annual electricity output of 3 gigawatt hours. The plant’s capacity would cover up to one third of ARA’s own needs. Since the investment volume exceeds 5 million Swiss francs, it must be approved by the Assembly of Delegates on 1 November.
Already under construction is a smaller solar roof system by dhp technology with 600 kilowatt peak above the basin for powdered activated carbon (PAH) dosing. It is to produce solar power from February 2024. This will cost 2.26 million Swiss francs.
In addition, ARA Thunersee already produces 13 gigawatt hours of biomethane per year and feeds it into the natural gas grid of Energie Thun AG. Ingo Schoppe can also imagine converting the waste heat generated from wastewater during the purification process into electricity. “The technical solutions for this are ready; it is up to us and our partners to design these technical solutions in such a way that they are not only good for the environment, but also become economically feasible,” writes the managing director of ARA Thunersee in his report
The board of directors submitted a credit application of 12.37 million Swiss francs for the entire plant to the assembly of delegates. The assembly also has to decide on awarding the contract to dhp technology, with whom a service contract is to be drawn up. Under Pronovo ‘s support programme, the plant operator can expect to receive a one-time investment grant (GREIV) of 985,000 francs for the planned plant. The timetable envisages the commissioning of the entire plant in the summer of 2025.