⚡ Energy

Greencity 2000-Watt District Energy System

Zurich's municipal utility ewz finances and runs the heat, cooling and power network for Greencity, certified in 2012 as Switzerland's first 2000-Watt district. Six groundwater wells and 215 geothermal probes drive 5 MW of ammonia heat pumps, with 584 kWp of rooftop PV and a biogas boiler for peaks, on a 30-year contract.

Live 📅 since 2014 ✔ Editor-reviewed

✔ Reviewed by the 1001 Smart Cities editorial desk · 🔎 Last verified 2026-07-29

⚡ Energy Smart grid & energy

📊 Impact

City projected ~1,800 t CO2 avoided per year; the district now houses ~2,000 residents and ~3,000 workplaces.

🎓 Lesson

The federal 2000-Watt-Areal label Greencity pioneered was scrapped in 2024 for lack of demand; later buildings on the site certify under SNBS instead. Labels expire faster than the infrastructure they certify.

Evidence🏛️ Official

Scale🏘️ District

Cost≈CHF 18.45M (ewz energy plant)

Fundingewz energy contracting, 30-year term

📖 Terms in this entry: Smart grid · Fuel cell · Reallabor (real-world lab)

Sources

↗ ewz (operator)Municipal utility's page: 30-year contracting, 4 NH3 heat pumps, groundwater as primary source, 215 borehole probes.

↗ City of Zurich (authority)2014 media release approving ewz's CHF 18.45M investment; projects ~1,800 t CO2 saved per year.

↗ Swiss Engineering STVIndependent technical breakdown: 6 extraction wells + 2 infiltration galleries, 215 probes at 220 m in 4 fields, 5 MW heat pumps, 584 kWp PV on 10 roofs, 2 MW biogas boiler.

↗ Losinger Marazzi (developer)District figures and 2014-2026 realisation timeline; first certified 2000-Watt-Areal claim.

↗ espazium (trade press)The federal 2000-Watt-Areal certificate was discontinued in 2024; Minergie-Areal and SNBS-Areal replace it.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇫🇮 Katri Vala Heat Pump Plant · Helsinki Both draw heat via pumps on a local water source — Zurich groundwater under a 30-year utility contract, Helsinki treated wastewater. 🇸🇪 Open District Heating: Selling Waste Heat Into the Grid · Stockholm Contrast in heat economics: Stockholm markets a buyback of waste heat; Zurich locked ewz into one 30-year energy-contracting deal instead. 🇨🇭 ewz Smart Meter Rollout on the City Fibre Network · Zürich Another verified project from Zürich.

Explore the wider context

🪦 Why smart cities fail 🔌 Smart grid & energy guide 🏙️ Zürich city profile ⚡ Energy projects

📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “Greencity 2000-Watt District Energy System” — Zürich, Switzerland. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/zurich-greencity/ (last verified 2026-07-29). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

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