MILAN – Exploiting the natural heat from a source for supplying an industry and serving several public buildings. This public-private sector collaboration is a reality in Switzerland, where in the small mountain community of Saxon the mineral water brand Cristalp, a member of the Nestlé Waters family, has made a system capable of providing “clean energy”.
The collaboration
Nestlé Waters Switzerland, the municipality of Saxon and Groupe & Greenwatt SA - a Swiss company specialising in the creation and management of renewable energy systems - are working together to exploit heat derived from a source of mineral water for energy to serve the whole community. The project has transformed the Cristalp plant into a clean energy "generator". This means that the site produces more energy than that normally intended for use in factory operations in order to divert it to the local community.
The value of a water source
The AUX Croix source produces approximately four times more renewal energy than its initial capacity. "The aux Croix source" is located in Saxon, Canton Valais, in Switzerland, and is a source from which water naturally emerges at a temperature of 25° C. Due to this characteristic it is also referred to as a thermo-mineral spring.
by Salvatore Galeone
