Energie Ausserschwyz increases capital for district heating expansion
Energie Ausserschwyz has completed a capital increase of 25.5 million for the expansion of its district heating network in the districts of March and Höfe. The first goal is an accelerated pipeline expansion in the direction of Pfäffikon SZ.
In a media release,Energie Ausserschwyz announced the result of a capital increase of CHF 25.5 million completed at the end of September to expand the district heating network. The investors are the main shareholder EW Höfe AG and the 100-member Ausserschwyz Energy Cooperative.
With the new funds, the energy provider is initially aiming for an accelerated expansion in the direction of Pfäffikon, it says. District heating pipelines are to be laid to the Ausserschwyz Cantonal School in Pfäffikon and to the centres of Lachen and Altendorf. Further expansion plans for the existing district heating network concern additional areas at the energy provider’s headquarters in Galgenen.
On the initiative of Energie Ausserschwyz, a district heating network has been under construction in the districts of March and Höfe since 2021. From the energy centre, properties in Galgenen, Siebnen, Lachen, Altendorf and Pfäffikon are to receive their heat from renewable sources such as wood chips and biomass. In 2023, district heating infrastructure worth 20 million Swiss francs was installed. Further expansion plans call for total investments of 15 million francs in 2024.
With the capital increase, Energie Ausserschwyz is also reacting to the inflation in construction costs, interest rates and raw material prices, the company says. “The business model of district heating means that considerable upfront investments have to be made in the expansion of the network before heat can flow and be sold. The higher the inflation, the more cost-intensive these upfront investments are