Alpiq has made a successful bid for the energy contract of the CFF "Pont-Rouge" project that aims to develop the city district around the future Lancy – Pont-Rouge railway station in Geneva. Alpiq will thus be in charge of all the heating and cooling infrastructure of this complex, which will comprise 120,000 m2 of commercial and administrative space, 600 apartments and a school. As the energy contractor, Alpiq will be responsible for the construction and maintenance of the heating and cooling installations. Alpiq will also sell the generated energy to the tenants of the "Pont-Rouge" complex. The CFF contract with Alpiq will be concluded for a 30-year period. Construction work is scheduled to start in 2014 and is foreseen to end in 2020.
An exemplary and environmentally-friendly project The CFF, as promoters of the project, and the Canton of Geneva have set as a priority the limitation of energy consumption and air pollution emissions. To meet these requirements, Alpiq plans to build a thermal power plant operating with a geothermal heating and cooling system. With a capacity of 4 to 5 megawatts, the plant will be supplied with heating and cooling energy by 600 probes up to 300 metres below the ground surface. In winter, the geothermal probes connected to a heat pump will keep the entire complex heated. In summer, the geocooling system will rely on natural underground temperature to cool the buildings. Alpiq will build a combined heating and cooling plant capable of serving the needs of the entire future complex. This state-of-the-art technology will enable the thermal needs of the buildings to be centrally managed and served by renewable energy sources. The "Pont-Rouge" project is set to become an outstanding example of how the heating and cooling needs of a neighbourhood can be met by geothermal energy.