Winners of the 2007 Watt d’Or awards

The winners of the 2007 Watt d'Or awards have been chosen! This year's trophies were presented to the winners on the occasion of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy's New Year's event that was held on 8 January 2007 in Bern. The following projects were chosen to receive the various awards (all of which are of equal value):

“Society” category

Baustelle Zukunft – Le Chantier à l'Avenir (Building Site of the Future)
cudrefin02 foundation, Cudrefin
This project is unique in Switzerland: in Cudrefin, youths are being given the opportunity to learn how to identify and carry out sustainable actions and thus acquire skills in implementing specific projects in which a great deal of value is placed on energy efficiency and the use of renewable forms of energy.

City of Lausanne: for its commitment to “campagne display” and for becoming no. 1 “energy city” in Switzerland
City of Lausanne, gas and district heating services, Lausanne
For a number of years now, the city of Lausanne has shown a high level of commitment towards sustainable development. It was awarded the Energy City label in 1996, and is now no. 1 “energy city” in Switzerland, having meanwhile implemented around 80 percent of its targeted measures. The Lausanne authorities are actively setting out to sensitise the population to sustainable energy use, for example through the ongoing “campagne display”.

“Energy technologies, systems and appliances” category

EAWAG Forum Chriesbach
General planners: Bob Gysin + Partner BGP (Architects), Zurich; proprietor: EAWAG EMPA, Dübendorf; various sub-contractors
The new head office of EAWAG is breaking new ground in the area of sustainability in the construction sector. It is being planned and constructed using the most advanced know-how and best practices, and shows that it is already possible today to achieve a level of primary energy consumption that is around four times lower than that stipulated by the Energy Act.

“Renewable energies” category

Implementation of EBL “Vision 2020”
Elektra Baselland (EBL), Liestal
Elektra Baselland (EBL) aims to supply a significant proportion of its energy products from renewable energy sources. With its “Vision 2020” its goal is to produce 10 percent of its electricity from biomass and 20 percent from geothermal energy by 2020.

“Energy-efficient mobility” category

Alpentransitbörse (Alpine transit exchange)
Alpen-Initiative, Verein “Zum Schutz des Alpengebietes vor dem Transitverkehr” (Alpine Initiative, Association for the protection of the Alpine region against the impacts of transit traffic), Altdorf
The concept of an Alpine transit exchange was first outlined by this organisation in 2001. At the end of 2005 the EU began to express its interest in the idea, which is now being discussed on a broader scale.

PAC-Car II
Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Measurement and Control Laboratory
This pathfinding vehicle powered by fuel cells is a research platform for top-end researchers and engineers of the future, and is simultaneously a highly effective communication platform for issues relating to sustainable mobility.

“Buildings” category

“Holzhausen” apartment block – Switzerland's first six-storey timber residential building
General contractor: Renggli AG, Sursee; proprietors: Dölf and Maria Gubser-Furrer, Steinhausen; various sub-contractors
Switzerland's first six-storey timber building is a residential and office block with a high level of comfort and extremely low energy consumption. It strongly emphasises the attractiveness of timber as a building material, and at the same time it serves as a prime example of how buildings of the future can be designed to ensure a high level of energy efficiency and thus help protect the environment.

“Energy images” project
Housing and Environment Department of the Canton of Glarus, Energy Office, Glarus; various suppliers
Thanks to the participation of regional media, the Glarus Energy Office has succeeded in sensitising a considerable proportion of the population to the level of energy efficiency in their home with the aid of its “Energy images” project, in which infrared images are used to show which parts of the building are in need of improvement in order to enhance energy efficiency.

Projects for consideration for the 2008 Watt d'Or awards may be submitted now – closing date is the end of August 2007.