Promoting renewable energy

Renewable energy currently represents around 15% of total world energy consumption. This portion is growing due to the general awareness of energy and environmental problems and, in particular, the impact of greenhouse gases.

BG contributes to this development by offering a wide range of services for the planning, execution and management of efficient energy systems:

• Hydropower
• Solar (thermal, electric)
• Wood / biomass
• Heat pumps and environmental heat (air, water and ground)
• Thermal waste (wastewater, etc.)
• Waste (biogas, incineration)

The technical and economic feasibility of renewables depends strongly on the local context in which they will be developed. We understand this issue and the associated challenges, and our clients benefit from our strong experience acquired in Switzerland and internationally.

The power of water...

Hydropower accounts for approximately twenty percent of worldwide electricity production. It is as of today one of the only means of storing energy at a large scale thanks to pumped-storage technology. Used in conjunction with conventional or re-newable power generation and thanks to its great flexibility and reliability, hydropower offers major advantages for the regulation of interconnected power grids.

Custom-made solutions for unique projects

Since every hydropower scheme is unique, the multidisciplinary approach of the BG Group allows to build a team of leading specialists and experts for all technical, environmental and social issues relevant to your project. From project development to operation, we accompany you at every stage:

• Strategic development
• Preliminary studies
• Feasibility studies and final design
• Tendering and construction
• Operation

From the smallest hydropower plant to the largest pumped-storage scheme and the renewal of your concession, the BG Group helps you to make the most of your hydroelectric potential while respecting the environment.

Our competence also extends to multi-purpose projects such as flood protection, irrigation or water distribution networks combined with hydropower generation. Since many consultants and specialist engineers in the BG Group have a background in the hydropower industry (production, distribution, operation), we understand your needs and future challenges.

The sun - a wonderful source of energy

Today, the use of renewable solar energy is widespread and supported by the public authorities in most regions of Europe. Solar power plants are now reliable and profitable and make it possible to repurpose unused rooftops to produce renewable energy for self-consumption, thereby reducing dependence on fossil fuels while limiting the impact on the environment.

Likewise, large-scale ground-mounted solar power plants are being developed in southern European regions and even in Switzerland.

We can assess the feasibility of a photovoltaic or thermal solar project and increase your profitability by advising you on the best solar panel technology for your project, and whether to choose a rooftop or ground-mounted solution. As a follow-up, our experts supervise the execution of your project from the call for tender through to acceptance of the installation.

We are also actively involved in a number of innovative, high-performance projects for hybrid energy production systems combining solar and other types of energy.

The multiple virtues of wood

Wood energy is one alternative to fossil fuels. It is renewable, CO2 neutral and can be used in many forms, including fire logs, green chips, dry chips and pellets. Like fossil fuels, it can be used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from household furnaces to industrial steam production.

Wood energy has great potential, both for heat and power production. We have references ranging from a few hundred kW to several dozen MW.

Because the wood is sourced locally, it can form the basis of a renewable sector that creates jobs for a city or a region.

Heat: an increasingly important source of energy

Environmental energy (ambient air, water and ground) is a huge potential source of renewable energy that can be exploited at lower cost in low temperature distribution systems. Most often this energy source is recovered by heat pumps that transfer heat, but it can also be used directly in free cooling systems.

Today, this type of energy is accessible to everyone, through geothermal, lake water or seawater district heating and cooling systems.

We are a key consulting partner for the development of large-scale projects, thanks to our experience in many complex projects using environmental energy or waste heat.

An important issue in terms of energy efficiency

The recovery of waste heat is an important issue in terms of energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

BG has already implemented novel solutions to recover thermal waste:

• Wastewater recovery for heating or cooling via heat pumps
• Recovery of the waste heat from waste-to-energy plants, industrial processes, etc.

A valuable resource

The main sources of urban waste, once all directly recyclable components (glass, paper, cardboard, metals) have been removed, have a huge energy potential that we help recover through innovative projects.

The two main sectors are:

• Energy recovery of the dry fraction through direct incineration in an incinerator designed to generate heat and power,
• Energy recovery of the wet fraction by anaerobic digestion, followed by material recovery by composting, generating biomethane and organic soil amendments.

This high value energy (heat, power and biomethane) is produced using advanced techniques ensuring environmental protection in terms of air pollution, odour nuisance and noise pollution.

In particular, we have built several co-digestion plants (sludge/biowaste) and biomethane injection plants.

We are currently heading up the reconstruction of the largest waste-to-energy plant in France.