Investing in depth saves costs and improves carbon footprint
Pistor's geothermal storage system saves the wholesaler 100,000 liters of heating oil per year. This prevents the release of 330 tons of CO2, as much as 200 direct flights from Zurich to Tokyo. The construction costs of 1 million Swiss francs are amortized through the elimination of heating oil costs.
Pistor’ s initial assessment of the first winter with its new geothermal storage system is positive: “It works so smoothly that we haven’t had to burn a drop of heating oil so far,” Michael Waser, Pistor’s Head of Infrastructure, is quoted as saying in a company press release.
This saves Pistor over 100,000 liters of heating oil per year at its headquarters in Rothenburg and prevents the release of 330 tons of CO2. This amount is released by more than 200 direct flights from Zurich to Tokyo, for example. Waser expects “that the underground storage facility will save us money in the medium term”.
Pistor has invested CHF 1 million in the construction work. This involved drilling 75 boreholes to a depth of 250 meters. The result is one of the largest geothermal storage facilities in Central Switzerland, according to the trading and service company for the bakery and confectionery industry as well as for restaurants and care facilities.
According to Waser, the Pistor cooperative is responding to the wishes of its customers, who are increasingly demanding supply chains that are as socially and environmentally friendly as possible: “We meet them.” The twelve electric trucks in the fleet and renovations with sustainable materials also contribute to this.
In addition, Pistor transports its more than 27,000 products by train from one distribution center to another. Thanks to this rail transport, an additional 785 tons of CO2 are saved each year.