Basler Quartier will soon have climate-neutral heating
The Basel government council has granted Lehenmatt Birs AG a concession to build new heat pipes. This means that the conversion of the old infrastructure in the Lehenmatt district into a largely CO2-neutral heating supply can begin.
Work on the construction of a heating network is allowed to start around Lehenmattstrasse from July. According to a press release , the Lehenmatt Birs AG (WVLB AG) heating network, which was founded specifically for this purpose, has now received permission from the government council of the canton of Basel-Stadt.
In the first expansion step, the client is laying 1.2 kilometers of new heat pipes. Up to 2900 households can be connected to it, the first probably from spring 2022. The heat that WVLB AG supplies should be up to 80 percent CO2-neutral. According to a press release, it is a by-product of the treatment processes in the nearby Birs wastewater treatment plant.
The first owners have already expressed their interest. "In the last few months we have already been able to conclude numerous heat supply contracts with large heat consumers in the Lehenmatt district," WVLB managing director Urs Hodel is quoted in the media release. WVLB AG is a joint venture between Industrielle Werke Basel ( IWB ) and the energy cooperative ADEV .