Turkey

• Turkey: New Vacuum Tube Factory-
  Since the government raised the import tax on vacuum tubes in July 2011, Turkey’s national solar thermal industry has undergone some thorough restructuring. Only one month later, seven of the nation’s solar thermal system suppliers and manufacturers teamed up in an effort to construct their own vacuum tube manufacturing unit. The idea behind the unusual cooperation among competitors is that all of the seven companies involved in the project can purchase coated double-glass vacuum tubes from the mutually financed company. The manufacturing unit under the name of Solarsan will be set up in Nazilli, a city in the western province of Aydın. 
• Turkey: Vacuum Tubes on the Rise-

  Vacuum tube technology is gaining influence on the Turkish market. Between 2007 and 2011, the share of vacuum tubes among the total newly installed collector area in the country increased from 4 to 28 %, according to the market statistics of Hakan Alas, General Manager of Ezinç Metal. Solarthermalworld.org spoke to the manager of the largest solar thermal manufacturer in the country and asked him about the market research he has been carrying out since 2000, as well as his thoughts of the latest developments in the market.
  Source: Ezinç Metal

• Moldova: Moldenergy 2012 – Where Energy Experts Meet-

  The only event for the solar market in the Republic of Moldova is Moldenergy, the International Specialized Exhibition for power-saving technologies, gas, heating and air conditioning systems. The four-day event took place in the middle of this March for the 16th year in a row. It has brought together 67 companies from Moldova, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Bulgaria and has been visited by 11,300 people - a considerable increase from last year’s event, at which 50 companies and 10,000 visitors were present.
  Photo: InfoEst.ro

• Bulgaria: Sunny Mood at SEE Solar 2012 in Sofia-

  While representatives from over 250 companies and 31 countries gathered at the Inter Expo Center Sofia for the 8th South-East European Solar Exhibition on 28 March, the Bulgarian government decided to cancel the highly controversial Belene Nuclear Power Plant project. Of course, the timing was only a coincidence. But still, the government’s decision could have an impact on the future development of renewable energies in Bulgaria. For years, critics of the government’s plans to set up the Belene plant for an estimated EUR 10 billion feared that the project could tie funds urgently needed to improve the country’s poor energy efficiency and leave too little money for green energy projects, such as solar thermal installations on the roofs of public buildings. Now, with a definite end to the idea of another nuclear power plant, market players in Bulgaria hope for new growth in the sector of alternative energies.
  Photo: Frank Stier

• USA: Slowdown in 2009 while Imports go up-

  Slowdown in the US: After the 2008 peak, the total sold area of medium temperature collectors decreased by 5 % in 2009, to 204,700 m². Exports amounted to only 2,100 m² of collector area, which means that the newly installed collector area in the United States in 2009 adds up to a total of 202,500 m².
  Source: Energy Information Administration

• Concentrating Solar Power: Global Outlook 09-

  This 2009 report looks into the global outlook of concentrating solar power (CSP). The report first looks into the different CSP technologies and makes a comparison based on the advantages and disadvantages. The report also provides an overview of the CSP development by region. For certain countries per region a more detailed assessment is provided. In particular, the potential of the Mediterranean and the MENA region is being assessed.

• Kutay Ülke Speaks About Ezinç and the Turkish Market during ESTEC 2011 - This is an interview with Kutay Ülke from the company Ezinç. Ezinç is one of the main collector and storage tank producers in Turkey. Kutay Ülke speaks about the company products and training activities. He also explains the development of the Turkish solar thermal market even if there are no incentives from the government.
• International Energy & Environment Fair ICCI 2012, Istanbul- The 18^th of the ICCI Conference and Exhibition, which is organised by Sektörel Fuarcılık, will be held at Istanbul Expo Center from 25 to 27 April 2012. The ICCI 2012 Exhibition and Conference will present a general outlook on the energy sector worldwide and in Turkey.
• Turkey: 5-Year Payback Time for Solar Hot Water System in Student Hostel-

  The student hostel of the University in Trabzon at the north coast of Turkey enjoys ideal conditions for solar water usage. When the 762 m² collector field was mounted on the roofs of the buildings, the hostel had already been equipped with six 10,000 litre tanks, which could have been used to store solar energy. This made the solar system, which Ezinc - Turkey's biggest collector manufacturer – set up this summer, a very cost-effective installation. Only EUR 120,000 were needed for the collector field, the mounting sets and the installation, translating into a payback time of five years.
  Photo: Ezinc

• International Solar & PV Exhibition 2012, Istanbul- The Turkish solar technologies sector is meeting for the 4th time at the International Solar & PV Exhibition in Istanbul in April 2012. The Fair is a trade platform for domestic and international customers. The exhibitor profile includes conventional, non conventional, renewable and clean and green energy, power transmission, distribution and conservation systems, process automation and instrumentation, boilers and steam systems, material handling systems, waste management systems, environment monitoring, petrochemical & electrical engineering etc.
• IEA Study "Solar Heat Worldwide": Global Market Growth of 22 % in 2006-

  2006 was an extremely satisfying year for the global solar thermal industry. According to the new study “Solar Heat Worldwide. Markets and contribution to the Energy Supply 2006” on behalf of IEA Solar Heating & Cooling Programme the new installations grew 22 % in 2006. The authors from the Austrian research institute AEE Intec surveyed 48 countries and added up the newly installed collector area to 18.3 GWth (26.1 million m2).

• Which are the main market drivers?- Generally speaking, you can differentiate between naturally growing markets and incentive driven markets. In the former, low-cost solar water heaters are already an economic alternative for households to produce hot water instead of using fossil fuels or electricity. Some examples are: China, which is the biggest solar thermal market in the world, Cyprus which has one of the highest solar thermal capacities in operation per capita in the world, and Turkey, which is the third biggest market in the world.
  
• Turkey: New Import and VAT Taxation for Vacuum Tubes-

  The Turkish Ministry of Economy has introduced a new calculation method for import taxes and the VAT on imported vacuum tubes. The ’Protection and Inspection Tax’ (Korunma ve Gözetim Vergisi) was made official in the ‘Public Gazette’ and has been in place since 6 July 2011. The new regulation assumes the price of a vacuum tube to be at 6 USD/kg, even if the real price is much lower. The import tax of 1.9 % and 18 % VAT are both calculated based on this assumed price. With an estimated weight of 1.6 kg per tube, import tax and VAT add up to USD 1.9 per tube. That means that the new regulation significantly increases the price of a vacuum tube, which is said to cost between two and three US dollars.
  

• ESTEC 2011 in France: Early Bird Registration extended-

  The early bird registration for the European Solar Thermal Energy Conference (estec 2011) has been extended to 15 July. You can save around EUR 100 if you sign up for the 2-day conference before this date. It will take place in Marseilles, France, on 20 and 21 October 2011. Fees are lower for members of the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) or the French Solar Association ENERPLAN.
  Photo: ESTIF

• ISH 2011: Solar Trends in the Heating Industry -

  The ISH is becoming increasingly international. At the beginning of this March, the world´s largest trade fair for bathroom, building, energy and climate technology in Frankfurt, Germany, has counted significantly more international visitors than ever before. 35 % of the 204,000 trade visitors came from abroad (2009: 29 %), whereas the total number of visitors almost stagnated (+1.5 %). The ISH is the trade fair of the European heating industry. The five largest corporations - Bosch Thermotechnik, Vaillant, Viessmann from Germany, BDR Thermea, Netherlands, and Ariston from Italy - dominated Hall 8 with huge stands. Solarthermalworld.org presents some of the trends it discovered in the solar thermal product portfolio of Europe's heating business.
  Photo: ISH 2011
  
  

• Turkey: Ezinc Celebrates a Total of 3,000,000 m2 of Produced Collector Area-

  Jubilee collector on display in the headquarters building: This collector panel completed in December 2009 the total of 3,000,000 m² of produced collector area Turkish manufacturer Ezinc Metal San. has produced since it started production in 1983. Photo: Ezinc

• Challenge of the world market: “Europe is stuck with high installation costs” -

  “Competition on price” was one of the key questions of the panel discussion at the international conference SMEthermal 2011 in Berlin on 10 February. Representatives from the major solar thermal markets worldwide discussed the challenges of the world market among them (left to right): Hakan Alas, General Manager, Ezinç Metal (Turkey), Michael Hsu, CEO, Sunshore Solar Energy – Business Development Central Europe (Austria/China) and Lucio Mesquita, Managing Director, Thermosol Consulting (Canada/Brazil). SMEthermal is an annual one-day conference dedicated exclusively to manufacturing of collectors and tanks, new materials and process optimisation. There were 160 participants from 22 different at the event.
  Photo: Solarpraxis AG / Therese Aufschlager

• 1,000 Solar Keymark Licenses for Collectors: among them 7 % from China -

  Solar Keymark is a very broadly accepted label on the European solar thermal market. More than 1,000 collector certificates have been issued since the introduction of the certification system in 2003.
  Source: www.solarkeymark.org

• Turkey: Güneş Enerjisi – Book on Solar Thermal Technology in Turkish-

  Ezinç Metal, the biggest solar thermal manufacturer in Turkey, has just published a book about the use of solar heating. The 110-page document entitled 'Güneş Enerjisi' describes in Turkish the potential of solar heating, and the different collector and tank technologies Ezinç has been offering. It also includes a chapter on mounting issues, one on additional components such as pumps and expansion vessels, and several hydraulic schemes for smaller and larger systems.

• Launch of ISOL Navigator: Asia moves up, while Europe lags behind -

  The ISOL Navigator has been launched at the Intersolar Europe in Munich at the 8th of June. The international study presents the current and future market development in 16 key solar heating and cooling countries. The ISOL Navigator is based on the “ISOL Index”, an international business climate index developed by German agency solrico at the beginning of 2010. This ISOL index is a point-based indicator (ranging from 0 to 100 points) showing the satisfaction of solar thermal manufacturers and system suppliers with current and expected market development. Company values are averaged to obtain country and regional indices.
  Figure: solrico

• Turkey: Solar Hot Water Systems supply 20,000 low-income Family Flats-

  Solar water heaters are gaining importance in Turkey's social housing projects: Over the last years, the country's Housing Development Administration (TOKI) has provided a total of 20,000 flats for low-income families with solar hot water. According to Munik Durak, these projects have, for the most part, been realised at newly constructed blocks of flats consisting of 40 to 50 units (see photo). Furthermore, the director of TOKI´s project department stated that TOKI had installed solar heating systems in 100 hospitals all around the country.
  Photo: Ezinç

• RENEX ECO 2011, Istanbul - After the success of its second edition, RENEX ECO 2011 will take place from 20 to 23 October 2011 at Istanbul Expo Centre. In 2010, more than 200 national and international exhibitors were able to spark the interest of 15,426 trade visitors. RENEX ECO unites all renewable energy ranges, energy efficiency, waste, water treatment, environment and fluid control technologies. Turkey has a huge potential for renewable energies as in Turkey the instalment of a new law favouring renewable energy and energy productivity is expected in 2011.
• ISK-Sodex 2012, Istanbul-

  ISK-Sodex 2012, the platform for the HVAC industry in the Eurasian region, will take place from 2 to 5 May 2012 in Istanbul. The organiser is the Hannover-Messe Sodeks Fuarcilik, a joint venture of Dunya Fuar Yapim, one of the leading exhibition organizers of Turkey, and the Hannover Messe International Istanbul, a subsidiary of Deutsche Messe AG.

  In 2010 the organizers counted 883 direct exhibitors and 80,756 professional visitors. ISK-Sodex 2012 will be organised on a net area of approximately 55,000 m², in a total of 11 halls.

• Baxi Group: US$ 3 million for a New Collector Production in Turkey-

  A modern Turkish collector factory: Baymak purchased a laser-welding machine as part of the new collector production unit at Istanbul. Photo: Baymak

• Hungary: Interesting but highly fluctuating Market-

  Over the last years, Hungary has turned out to be an interesting but highly fluctuating market for solar thermal technology. Through its subsidiary in the neighbouring country, Austrian manufacturer Tisun has been doing business in Hungary since 2008 and has already made its mark on the state's solar thermal sector. In December 2009, the company supplied the collectors for the so-called „Village House“ in Budapest, with its 1,500m² the country's largest thermal system so far. Solarthermalworld.org spoke with Michael Tschol, Tisun's Sales Director for the Hungarian market, and Balázs Szendrö, Tisun's Sales Manager on-site in Hungary.
  Photo: Tisun

• Assessment of the Techno-Economic Potential of CSP for Electricity and Desalination in Mediterranean Partner Countries (2010)-

  This document is one of the deliverables of the MED-CSD project. The main aim of this FP7 project is the assessment of the technico-economic potential of CSP for electricity and desalination in the Mediterranean region. The document explores the demand for water and electricity in the Mediterranean and assesses the market potential of CSP in a number of countries (Cyprus, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, Israel, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon).

• Great Britain: Microgeneration Certification Scheme lists PVT Collectors-

  Generating heat and electricity: Since May 2010, 48 Volther PVT collectors by Turkish manufacturer Solimpeks have both supplied hot water to a children's home in Surrey County, Great Britain, and fed solar electricity into the local energy grid. According to the manufacturer, the system's payback period is 12 years, thanks to the Feed-in Tariff scheme for solar electricity.
  Photo: Solimpeks

• Azerbaijan: Collector and Tank Production for the State-

  State-owned Azerenergy Construction Company (AZENCO), which is based in Azerbaijan in the Caucasian region, started producing solar thermal collectors at the beginning of August and will very soon produce solar tanks, too. The investment was initiated by a state programme, which aims at installing solar heating systems in public buildings.
  

• 4th International Solar & PV Exhibition, Istanbul - The Turkish solar technologies sector is meeting for the 4th time at the International Solar & PV Exhibition in Istanbul in March 2011. The Fair is a trade platform for domestic and international customers. The exhibitor profile includes conventional, non conventional, renewable and clean and green energy, power transmission, distribution and conservation systems, process automation and instrumentation, boilers and steam systems, material handling systems, waste management systems, environment monitoring, petrochemical & electrical engineering etc.
• Potential Demonstration Sites for Wind and CSP Projects (2009)-

  The REMAP Project (Action Plan for High Priority Renewable Energy Initiatives in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Area) is a two years initiative funded under the European Commission FP6 with the goal of investigating two electricity generation technologies: wind power and concentrated solar power, in nine European and Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Jordan, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey).

• Turkey: Baymak invests US$ 10 million in new Tank Factory-

  Heart of Baymak's new tank production factory in Tuzla near Istanbul, Turkey, is its automated, enamelling line: The production capacity has increased from 75,000 to 175,000 tanks per year.
  Photo: Baymak

• RENEX 2010, Istanbul- After the success of its first edition, RENEX 2010, the exhibition for Renewable Energy will take place from December 09 - 12, 2010 at the Expo Center Istanbul. In 2009, more than 300 national and international exhibitors were able to spark the interest of 17,000 trade visitors. The international exhibition unites all renewable energy ranges, energy efficiency, waste, water treatment, environment and fluid control technologies.
• SOLAIR: Survey of Available Technical Solutions and Successful Running Systems - Cross-Country Analysis-

  This paper compares existing databases of knowledge on the solar cooling applications from across Europe with SOLAIR’s own database. References are made to the SACE (Solar Air-Conditioning in Europe) project and the Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (SHC) of the International Energy Agency.

  According to the Report, previous databases concluded that 70 solar cooling installations were present in Europe in 2004 with the majority residing in Germany.

  SOLAIR’s database had a different focus and therefore includes data such as:

• Commitments Toward Wind and Energy Concentrated Solar Thermal Energy Integration in Algeria, Jordan, Tunisia and Turkey (2009)-

  The REMAP Project (Action Plan for High Priority Renewable Energy Initiatives in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Area) is a two years initiative funded under the European Commission FP6 with the goal of investigating two electricity generation technologies: wind power and concentrated solar power, in nine European and Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Jordan, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey).

• Turkey: Industry discovers Space Heating and Process Heat-

  The picture shows the solar shop of Solimpeks and the office building for the engineers of the Seiso subsidiary, which is responsible for large-scale projects. Turkish solar thermal manufacturers increasingly establish separate companies to handle hotel installations or process heat applications. Photo: Ina Röpcke

• Solar Cooling at the Red Sea: Demonstration Project with a Payback Time of 30 Years-

  The Egyptian Minister for Environmental Affairs, Maged George, is being interviewed on the roof of the Environmental Affairs Agency building, which is equipped with a 82 m² vacuum tube collector system. Source: www.eeaa.gov.eg

• Algeria: A Sunny State Still Waiting its Turn-

  Algeria has one of the greatest solar potentials in the world. The annual radiation ranges from 1,700 kWh/m² in the North to 2,260 kWh in the South. The solar water heater market, however, is still in a deep slumber. Waking it up is the responsibility of a new subsidy programme.
  Source: www.sunconsult.dz

• Renewable Energy in the southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries Current Situation- This report has been prepared by the Observatoire Méditerranéen de l’Energie (OME) with the support of OME members and partners of the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development Committee (RESDC). It consists in an update of the previous version carried out by OME with support of the Italian Ministry of Environment and Territory (IMET) in the
• International Comparison of Warranty Periods granted by Collector Manufacturers-

  “How long is the warranty period of your flat plate or your vacuum tube collector?” This question was posed as part of a global solar thermal industry survey to 300 collector manufacturers from 40 different countries. Figure: solrico

• Market Report for Small and Medium-Sized Solar Air-Conditioning Appliances Analysis of Market Potential-

  This Report focuses on the 8 participating countries’ markets to the SOLAIR project and provides a market review and analysis of small and medium-sized solar air-conditioning (SAC) appliances.

  This Report begins with a comparison with all countries markets’ status quo that is presented in a very digestible format of graphs and key data. The main section of the Report looks in depth at each country and provides an overview based on the following issues:

• Concentrating Solar Power for the Mediterranean Region-

  This 2005 report assesses the data that is needed in order for strategic development and to achieve long-term energy and water security in the wide Mediterranean Region. A major part of the study focuses on concentrating solar thermal power generation since it is considered by far the largest available renewable energy resource in the EU-MENA region. 

• An Overview of CSP in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (2008)-

  This document from 2008 gives a comprehensive overview of CSP development in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The paper first looks into the key drivers and key inhibitors that impact the growth of CSP. Particular attention is given to the cost factor of CSP such as initial investment costs and the operating & maintenance costs.

• ISK-Sodex 2010, Istanbul- ISK-Sodex takes place every two years and is the platform for the HVAC industry in the Eurasian region. The organiser is the Hannover-Messe Sodeks Fuarcilik, a joint venture of Dunya Fuar Yapim, one of the leading exhibition organizers of Turkey, and the Hannover Messe International Istanbul, a subsidiary of Deutsche Messe AG.
• Solar Energy & Technologies Fair, Istanbul- The Turkish solar technologies sector is meeting for the 3^rd time at the Solar Energy & Technologies Fair in Istanbul in March 2010. The participatory firms will be sharing their products, services, application examples, innovations and latest developments with the professional visitors at Solar Energy Technologies Exhibition. According to the organisers this fair is the only one dedicated to solar thermal technology in Turkey.
• 40,000 “Forest Villagers” in Turkey Heat Water with the Sun-

  Paid via interest-free credit: a solar water heater from the supplier Sergün, installed at a forest village. Photo: Sergün

• Laser Welding Captures the Market-

  Laser welding machine: a popular joining technique between absorber sheet and pipe Photo: Sunlaser Consulting GmbH
  

• Lack of Support: Turkish Market Decreasing- The solar thermal market in Turkey is shrinking. The produced collector area has decreased by an average of 9 % each year since reaching its peak in 2004 with almost 1.5 million m². Local manufacturers only produced 1 million m² last year, according to the statistics of Gunder, the Turkish division of the International Solar Energy Society (see chart below). The association is estimating an additional import rate of 3 to 5 %.

• Renex, Istanbul- The opportunities for investment and new business provided by Turkey in the fields of environmental technology, power and energy efficiency will be highlighted at RENEX 2009 from 5 to 8 November 2009 at the Expo Center Istanbul. The keynote themes are as follows: solar systems, wind power systems, wind and geothermal energy, water supply and treatment, recycling and environmental technology, as well as water heating systems and bio-fuels. RENEX will present recycling concepts and sustainable solutions, with the emphasis on energy efficiency and environmental technology.
• Perspectives for Concentrating Solar Power in Coastal Areas of Mediterranean Sea-

  This paper looks into the possible applications of CSP on the coastal areas of the mediterranean region. Starting with providing a short overview on the available CSP technologies, the document also looks into what the potential and market perspectives are for this technology.

• R-energy, Istanbul- R-energy is a global initiative to create a comprehensive expo and congress network for the renewable energy industry. During the events visitors will find exhibition areas dedicated to wind energy, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, hydrogen, biofuels, biogas, etc. R-energy will offer a conference programme with lectures on the latest trends and developments in business and academic sectors of renewable energy.
• SODEX Trabzon 2009, Istanbul- SODEX Trabzon 2009 will be an international trade fair for Sanitary and Heating, Ventilating and Air-Condition (HVAC)
• Solar & Photovoltaic Technologies, Istanbul- The event will be a meeting place of the western and eastern cultures for their mutual benefits with the chance to exchange information, make contacts and catch the opportunities of Turkey. The Turkish market is booming with new policies of the government which is supporting the show. The participatory firms will be sharing their products, services, application examples, innovations and latest developments with the professional visitors.