A Swiss geothermal energy project, designed to generate electricity for 900 homes and heat thermal baths, has been suspended because it doesn't have enough hot water to pump.
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Un proyecto geotérmico suizo queda paralizado por problemas técnicos
But the project has been suspended amid technical troubles in getting enough water into the 2,956 metre deep bore hole.
“Contrary to expectations the drilling operation has not produced a sufficiently powerful water flowrate to generate electricity,” the project organisers said on MondayExternal link.
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Can deep geothermal projects help secure Swiss energy independence?
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The climate crisis and the war in Ukraine have underlined the need to develop renewable energy sources like geothermal.
The project’s goal is to harness water that is heated to at least 110 degrees Celsius, with an ideal flowrate of 40 litres a second, to generate electricity. Deep underground the boiling point of water is higher than at ground level due to greater pressures.
It has been sited to tap into naturally occurring hot springs to create renewable energy.
But despite the setback, the company that runs the project, Alpine Geothermal Power Production (AGEPP), refused to concede defeat. It will conduct analysis to get to the root of the problem.
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Heat from the ground, it’s there for the taking
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In April, Lyesse Laloui, head of the Laboratory of Soil Mechanics at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) will host a meeting of world specialists in “energy geostructures” for a workshop that has the support of the American National Science Foundation. EPFL were the first to test in real conditions the behaviour of heat…
“All is not lost, because the temperature at the bottom of the borehole is good,” said AGEPP boss Jean-François Pilet. “We have proven that it is possible to dig 3,000 meters deep in an alpine massif of very hard rock. This is positive for further drilling.”
The technical issues at Lavey-les-Bains comes as Switzerland prepares itself for gas shortages this winter and is actively looking for ways to increase the share of renewable energy production.
In Lavey-les-Bains, however, tests “did not record the slightest seismic activity stemming specifically from the operation within its vicinity.”
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Switzerland braces for winter energy crunch
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Explainer: why is there a risk of an energy shortage this winter? What is Switzerland doing to reduce gas and electricity consumption?
Has your continent reached its peak or is there still potential for economic growth?
Some regions of the world are on an upward trajectory with the promise of a steadily improving future. Where do you live? And in which direction is your region or continent developing?
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Flight safety is reduced by the clogging of airspace, says Thomas Steffen, a pilot for Swiss and head of safety at Aeropers, the industry association.
Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann holds first major European exhibition in Thun
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Das Kunstmuseum Thun richtet im August die erste grössere Europaausstellung der malaysischen Künstlerin Yee I-Lann aus. Darin werden Einflüsse des Kolonialismus aber auch das Fortbestehen des indigenen Erbes thematisiert.
Data from Swiss health foundation Radix leaked on the dark web
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After the cyber attack suffered by the Radix foundation at the end of last month, sensitive personal data such as names and debts of people banned from casinos were published on the Darknet.
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Companies with an externally validated net-zero target emit less CO2 than those without a climate target. This is the conclusion of a new analysis by the US financial services provider MSCI.
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Swiss companies are increasingly being targeted by cyber criminals. In the past quarter, every single company in this country was the target of a cyber attack an average of 1097 times a week.
Swiss households faced 21 minutes of power outages in 2024
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End customers experienced an average of 21 minutes of electricity interruption in 2024. This resulted in 0.34 power outages per capita. The duration of electricity interruptions increased by three minutes compared to the previous year.
Swiss citizens will be voting on restricting wind farm expansion
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On Friday, the Association for the Protection of Nature and Democracy submitted two initiatives aimed at curbing the expansion of wind farms. More than 110,000 signatures have been collected.
E-bike riders regularly break speed limit in residential areas
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Fast e-bikes regularly exceed the speed limit in residential areas. According to a new study with data on cyclists in Zurich, they regularly reach speeds of over 30 km/h.
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Swiss small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling to find staff, a problem made more acute by the increased bargaining power of employees and increased absenteeism.
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Geothermal sector faces heat of public scrutiny
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But supporters insisted there is no chance of the promising alternative energy source dying a death in Switzerland despite the Basel experiment ending in earthquake damage and a criminal court case. The Deep Heat Mining project in Basel was officially abandoned last month after triggering earth tremors that caused SFr9 million ($8.7 million) in damage…
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Fredy Brunner, the member of the city council responsible for technical operations, announced the decision on Tuesday, having informed Swiss Energy Minister Doris Leuthard the previous day. The decision was taken after consultations with various experts, he said. The borehole has been stabilised and pipes have again been inserted to a depth of 4,000 metres.…
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Despite the failure of the ambitious Deep Heat Mining project in Basel, which was put on hold in 2007 after drilling work triggered a series of small earthquakes, several other Swiss cantons have declared an interest in geothermal power. The SFr200 million ($173 million) Geneva project, initiated by the local power company Services Industriels de…
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