Energie Zukunft Schweiz AG (EZS) and its European Sunwin subsidiaries grew in leaps and bounds in 2022. High energy prices have given a considerable amount of momentum to energy efficiency and the expansion of renewable energy sources.
EZS subsidiary Sunwin Italia sold a 375 MW portfolio to one of Europe's largest energy companies in 2022. News
Our biogas team succeeded in helping to finance the construction of new plants by concluding 10-year and 15-year purchase agreements.
Thanks to the outstanding commitment of our project team, we succeeded in introducing SAP as the company-wide ERP software in 2022.
More than 120 employees took part in the Team Days 2022 in Emmetten NW, which was the largest internal event for EZS to date.
Our mission remains clear: ‘We are enthusiastic energy change-makers. What counts , as far as we are concerned, is impact’. In 2022, we helped to switch to renewable energy sources and increase energy efficiency in our business areas of consulting, project development, trading and promotion. In 2022, as we have done since we were established in 2006, we have not only brought the energy transition forward in concrete terms, but also explained it and made it tangible.
We have supported energy supply companies, property owners, the public sector and private individuals in saving CO₂, using renewable electricity and renewable heat, and reducing overall energy consumption.
The following chart provides an overview of the impact which we have achieved together with our customers. Unless otherwise stated, the savings potential refers to the total lifetime of the installations.
Image: A selection of what we have achieved in 2022 as the Energie Zukunft Schweiz Group.
1069 properties
analysed, revealing a PV potential of 44.51 MWP and 5.84GWh of potential for energy optimisation.
The real estate sector is an important driver in the expansion of solar power. Property analyses are an important step for exploiting the existing potential.
465,000 tonnes of CO₂
savings potential in the heat supply area. 22,000 tonnes of CO₂ savings were specifically initiated.
Providing a sustainable heat supply in buildings is a significant building block on the way to decarbonisation. Our neutral analyses show how the value of real estate can be increased with a sustainable heat supply.
211,000 households
will be able to be supplied with electricity in the future via the ground-mounted photovoltaic pipelines which are being planned/developed in Italy and Romania.
Fortunately, the proportion of renewable energy sources in electricity consumption is increasing steadily. With its subsidiary Sunwin Energy, Energie Zukunft Schweiz is committed to the expansion of renewable energies beyond Switzerland's borders. We are reducing our dependence on fossil energy from abroad by developing these plants. Solar power plants in the south are also an effective measure for ensuring Switzerland’s energy supply in winter.
500 GWh of biogas
was supplied, reducing emissions from the natural gas network by 100,000 tonnes of CO2.
Energie Zukunft Schweiz is active internationally in making innovative technologies and high-quality biogas available to Swiss energy supply companies.
232 GWh of electricity
savings triggered by our electricity subsidy programmes and subsidies applied for on behalf of customers.
With its comprehensive range of subsidies for electricity efficiency, SwissEnergy Future also facilitates large-scale projects.
229,625 tonnes of CO₂
saved by 2030.
EZS makes changing a heating system significantly more financially attractive and therefore speeds up the heat transition in Switzerland.
16,500 people
informed about energy issues and motivated them to take action.
With the Linie-e education and visitor platform, around 10,500 visitors were able to gain valuable insights into various infrastructure facilities.
We provided 1,400 participants with detailed information about specific action options at eight information events in municipalities.
In order to tackle the energy transition in a sustainable way, EZS is already addressing the next generation today. With our flexible teaching modules, we educated around 2,400 students in the classroom and a further 2,200 students with online modules on the subject of energy.
With the development and opening of an information path, 4 project weeks, 11 holiday passes and 8 appearances in various television formats, many more people were informed about energy issues.
We succeeded in showing innovative solutions with the study on types of heat network operation.
We initiated a public discussion about diverse solutions for the energy transition with the ‘Floating solar power plants on Swiss lakes’ white paper.
Imparting relevant knowledge is fundamental for successfully driving forward the energy transition. Energie Zukunft Schweiz therefore communicates its knowledge of energy issues to as many people and institutions as possible and motivates them to take action.
549 solar installations
are monitored for proper functioning on our monitoring platform.
67 new change-makers
have been working for the energy transition since 2022.
Image: All new employees meet at that quarter's «Welcome Days», where they get an in-depth look into all areas of the company.
In addition to the growth of all teams in Switzerland, the build-up of the team in Romania saw particular success with its initial projects. The team in Germany was off to a flying start, with more than 30 new projects during its first year of operation. The team expansion in Italy directly followed the successful sale of part of the development pipeline to one of Europe’s biggest energy providers.
The energy transition is a global project, which is why we are also taking our energy transition expertise to other countries. Half of the 67 new employees have taken up their positions at international work locations in Madrid, Spain; in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; in Milan, Italy and in Timișoara, Romania.
Image: In addition to the existing locations of Energie Zukunft Schweiz AG and its Sunwin Energy subsidiaries in Switzerland (Basel, Neuenkirch and Zurich), Italy (Bolzano, Florence, Milan), Romania (Timișoara) and Spain (Barcelona, Madrid), the Freiburg im Breisgau location was added in 2022. Other countries were also analysed, some of which were promising.
Our most important and effective commitment to the environment continues to be our business operations:
We optimise our electricity consumption.
We heat with renewable energy sources.
We focus on sustainable mobility.
In 2022, our employees booked around 2,000 in-country and international train journeys. Wherever possible, we rely on climate-friendly forms of mobility.
In 2022, 49 short-haul and one long-haul flight for business travel took place in our Group, which produced CO₂ emissions of approximately 31 tonnes.
EZS owns an electric car in Switzerland. For other journeys, we use the ‘Mobility’ car sharing system. In 2022, our employees drove a total of 3,420 km. The relevant CO₂ emissions amount to approx. 0.41 tonnes.
Vision of the EZS Group
«We are a leading force on the way to a fully renewable energy world.»
EZS is helping to implement the energy transition quickly and efficiently. The global climate knows no national borders, and the energy transition and climate action are global projects. We ensure that our positive impact expands throughout Europe. The following success factors will help us in 2023:
Number of employees in the Swiss parent company and the respective country units (head count as at end of year).
Figure: Development of the Energie Zukunft Schweiz Group, projection of the number of employees in the parent company and the respective country units from today’s perspective (number of employees at the end of the year). It is foreseeable that other countries will be added in 2023, with the main focus being on France.