France

• TramStore21 Report: Building Sustainable and Efficient Tram Depots for Cities in the 21st Century – Solar Thermal Systems (2012)-

  This report compares experiences of solar thermal technology for the five benchmark tram depots of the TramStore21 project. For the project, five European partners – from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France and Italy – have worked since 2008 at pooling existing best practices and know-how for the construction of four benchmark tram depots.

• Europe: SDHplus Gathers Experts and Newcomers to Solar District Heating-

  Just after the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) project SDHtake-off will have ended in June 2012, there will be a follow-up project called SDHplus. Six new countries will join it: Spain, France, Lithuania, Croatia, Poland and Slovenia. Experienced partners from the former SDHtake-off project will help them promote solar district heating by launching awareness-raising campaigns and assessing the potential of their heat supply network. SDHplus comes with a budget of EUR 1.8 million from the IEE fund and will run over three years.

• 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.

• Philippe Papillon speaks of INES' different Solar Thermal Energy Projects-

  Interview with Philippe Papillon from INES, made during ESTEC 2011 conference in Marseille. Philippe speaks of his organisation's work on solar thermal energy. 30% of the 15-strong team's time is spent on system design and testing, with a main focus on auxiliary consumption and the reduction of cost of solar energy. They also work on component design, specifically targetting preliminary components as an effective way to reduce costs.

• France: Support Scheme for up to 30 Solar Heating and Cooling Systems-

  One of the successful show cases of solar cooling applications in France: The vinery in Banyuls, in the south of France, where 130 m² of vacuum tube collectors supply an absorption chiller with 52 kW cooling capacity since 1991.
  Photo: Tecsol

• Sonnenkraft: “We Have a Responsibility to Innovate and Develop Solar Energy”- With the expansion to the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Sonnenkraft’s network of sales offices now spans across nine countries. When adding the company’s partnerships in other markets, the manufacturer is among the solar thermal businesses with the most extensive market coverage across Europe. Solarthermalworld.org spoke to Magnus Wallin (left), who has been Director of new and emerging markets in Sonnenkraft since 2008, and Torben Sørensen (right), CEO of SolarCAP since 2010 (the Danish holding company of Sonnenkraft – among other companies) who came from a position as CEO of Faber and Benthin Group (subsidiaries of VKR Holding), about the market potential in different European countries and the company’s future growth strategy.
  Photos: Sonnenkraft
• Overview on Solar Thermal Plus Heat Pumps Systems and Review of Monitoring Results (2011)-

  The target of the present paper is to give an overview on commercially available Solar Thermal and Heat Pump Systems (SAHPS) and a review on available monitoring results of these integrated systems. It is the fruit of the research of German, Italian and Austrian specialists in the framework of IEA’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme.

• Spain: Export Helps Solar Thermal Industry Survive-

  One of the biggest Spanish collector manufacturers, Termicol, can still celebrate its 10^th anniversary this year. The company has managed to counter the decline in the Spanish market by expanding its business abroad. Today, the export of collectors generates 20 % of the company´s turnover. With its own brand, Termicol claims a market share of around 10 % in its home country.
  Photo: Termicol

• Thermal Regulations and Energy Performance of Buildings – the French Case (2010)-

  This is a presentation delivered by Enerplan during the “Setting up the Right Incentives to Boost Solar Thermal in Europe” webinar organized on November 30, 2010, within the framework of ProSTO project, funded through the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme.

• France: Solfea Bank Finances 35,000 Loans per Year for Renewables and Energy Efficiency -

  The French utility GDF Suez was the main sponsor of Estec 2011 in Marseille. Its subsidiary Banque Solfea is specialized on loans concerning renewable energies. CEO Dominique-Geneviève Rougier introduced the industrial bank within a presentation, and explained services and portfolio in the course of an interview with solarthermalwolrd.org. In three years Banque Soltea intends to reach an outstanding discounted bills of EUR 1 billion in the field of efficiency measures and renewable energies.
  Photo: Banque Solfea

• Estec 2011: “We need incentive tariffs for solar thermal”-

  The crisis in the European key countries was present during the entire 5th European Solar Thermal Energy Conference (ESTEC) in Marseilles on 20 and 21 October 2011. Around 300 speakers and participants tried to deliver new ideas and concepts to get the industry back on track. At the second conference day, "plug and flow", "solar active houses", "fixed prices for end consumers" and "solar incentive tariffs" were among the key issues of a round-table discussion, which was moderated by Uwe Trenkner, a consultant based in Brussels (third from left).
  Photo: ESTIF/ Joël Assuied

• Europe: Solar Keymark Scheme Rules for concentrating solar collectors-

  During the meeting in Paris in October 2011, the Solar Keymark Network has accepted an extension of the Solar Keymark Scheme Rules. In the future, Solar Keymark will be available for both solar water heater stores and concentrating solar collectors. At the same meeting, the Solar Keymark Network has approved the new Annual Collector Energy Output Calculation Tool as a standard measuring tool for all Solar Keymark certified collectors. The energy output calculated with it can from now on be found on all Solar Keymark data sheets.
  Photo: Henry Rosik

• Winners of the Solarthermalworld.org Quiz 2011-

  Second round of the solarthermalworld.org quiz: The winners of 2011 were announced at the end of the ESTEC 2011 conference in Marseilles, France, on 21 October. The photo shows the three participants who were able to answer the ten questions in the shortest time (from left): Jan Knaack (BSW Solar), Anja Loose (ITW Stuttgart) and Olivier Drücke (Eclareon).
  Photo: Stephanie Banse

• Trainenergy Project. Module 9. Renewable Energy Systems (2011)-

  The Trainenergy project ran from September 2009 to September 2011, with the objective to produce a training programme about the EU Energy Performance of Building and the Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directives for tradesmen in the construction industry. The project was run in Ireland, UK, France, Germany, Spain and Denmark. This module presents the best renewable sources that offer heating at virtually zero carbon emissions, solar water heating being the first technology to be assessed.

• EnerGaia, Montpellier- Between local and global, the Energaia exhibition gathers around renewable energies and energy effectiveness all the regional decisionmakers, manufacturers, local authorities and private citizens who have worked around the Mediterranean sea to increase our capacity to innovate, to develop markets, to train workers, to create jobs, to build integrated sectors... In 2009 like for the two previous editions, the Region Languedoc- Roussillon supports the Energaia exhibition.
• Combisol Project: „Solar combi systems are gaining market share“-

  In December 2010, the Solar Combisystems Promotion and Standardisation (CombiSol) project ended after running for three full years. The aim of the project was to expand the market development of Solar Combi Systems (SCS), which provide both space heating and domestic hot water, and to promote an improvement of the quality of systems installed. Project partners were the National Institute of Solar Energy – Education (INES Education), France, the Institute of Thermodynamics and Thermal Process Engineering (ITW) of the University of Stuttgart, Germany, French Environment and Energy Management Agency ADEME, PlanEnergi, Denmark, the Committee Renewable Energy at the Institute for Sustainable Technologies (AEE), Austria, and Dalarna University, Sweden.

• 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).

• What are the advantages of solar thermal technology at a national level?- “Replacing imported fuels with local jobs”, this slogan of the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) sums up perfectly the advantages of solar thermal technology for a national economy. The six biggest solar thermal markets in Europe – Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Greece and France – already exceeded 34,000 full time jobs in 2007 (check related article here). With an annual average growth rate of 20 % that is 6,800 jobs more each year. In the boom year 2008 in Europe this calculation results in 116,000 full-time jobs.
• Poland: Sunex to go public by September -

  Becoming a publicly traded company by September: the first step of Sunex' strategy to enter new markets and invest in a factory outside the country. The solar collector manufacturer will be listed on New Connect, the Warsaw stock market for small enterprises. In August, Sunex already sold 0.76 % of its stocks to investors through private offers, gaining about PLN 0.55 million (EUR 0.13 million). “We have decided to enter New Connect to let the market give us a valuation of our company before we get listed on the main trading floor of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE),” the company’s President, Romuald Kalyciok (see photo), explains. Further share sales are planned for 2012.
  Photo: Puls Biznesu

• Renewable Energy in Europe. Markets, Trends and Technologies (2010)-

  This second edition of the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) study presents the latest political, technological, financial and economic information on renewable energy technologies in the fields of heating and cooling, electricity and biofuels in order to reach the binding 2020 target of at least 20 % renewable energy from final energy consumption.

• EnR Renewable Energy Exhibition 2012, Paris- EnR Renewable Energy Exhibition 2012 will take place from 3 to 5 April 2012 in Paris. The conference and exhibition "Salon des energies renouvelables" is widely recognised as one of France’s most important renewable energy events, attracting a high number of professionals, leading experts. The conference will cover the topics of photovoltaics, solar thermal, wood energy, CO₂, sustainable building, investments and energy efficiency. In 2011 in Lyon the event attracted more than 31,000 visitors.
• Finland / Germany: T-Drill presented at Intersolar Europe-

  Munich's Intersolar in June was the first-ever German event at which Finnish company T-Drill O presented its machinery. With a focus on pipe processing for solar thermal absorbers, the company offers T-Drill machines, as well as pipe cutting, pipe end closing and end forming machines. The photo shows Timo Lehtonen, Sales Director at T-Drill, presenting the main component of a T-Drill machine: the tool that can drill and collar during a single production step.
  Photo: Bärbel Epp

• Poland: various commercial Grant Programmes -

  By the end of 2010, the total surface area of solar collectors in Poland reached 655,000 m². Newly installed collector area amounted to 146,000 m², roughly 2,000 m² more than in 2009. Over the next years, the number of new solar thermal installations is thought to increase significantly because of various grants at the national and local level: The local incentive programme in Szczawnica in southern Poland has already helped in setting up more than 1,500 collectors in households (see photo).
  Photo: szczawnica.pl

• 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

• Solar Cooling Market to experience big Changes-

  According to Dr Uli Jakob, Vice President of the “Green Chiller - Association for Sorption Cooling”, the solar cooling sector may soon experience a shift from small series production of a niche market to considerable manufacturing quantities. Jakob points out two signs supporting such a development: First, the approval of the IEA-SHC task 48, “Quality Assurance and Support Measures for Solar Cooling“; second, the recent market entry of big players, such as Stiebel Eltron (Germany) and Hitachi (Japan).
  Photo: Bärbel Epp

• ESTIF Statistics at Intersolar: Highs and Lows in the European Solar Thermal Market-

  More detailed market figures can be found in this year’s ESTIF booklet: The 16-page market report is going to be published at the Intersolar Europe in Munich. For the first time, the report will include a map showing key figures as well as articles with background information on solar cooling and large solar thermal systems. Source: ESTIF

• Advanced Storage of Solar Thermal Energy for Low Energy Housing-

  Countries like Germany, Switzerland and France are registering an increasing interest in low energy houses, mainly single family houses (40-45 kWh/m2 per year for space heating) combined with solar heat production.

• “We were prepared for this Outcome” -

  In most of the National Renewable Energy Plans (NREAPs), solar thermal was not a priority. Only 8 countries announced significant collector area and growth rates (see news here). solarthermalworld.org asked Xavier Noyon, Secretary General of the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF), about the reasons behind this lack of consideration, and about the actions which have to be taken now.
  Photo: ESTIF

• Market Report for Enlarging Solar Thermal Systems in Multi-Family-Houses and Hotels in Europe (2007)-

  Solarge is a European co-operation project promoting the installation of collective solar thermal systems (CSTS) with collector areas of 30m2 and larger. The project looks in particular to multi-family buildings, hotels, public and social buildings. This report, which has been revised in 2007, compiles and assesses data relative to 8 national CSTS markets.

  The research looked, among other points, to the level of development of the national solar thermal market and to what extent the political and legislative framework hampers or promotes the development of CSTS.

• Solar Thermal Heating User Guide (2007)-

• Large Scale Deployment of Solar Thermal Technologies (2004)-

  This case study was created by ADEME, the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management. It provides information on the Plan Soleil Initiative, which is the solar thermal program of France’s national renewable energy initiative called REACT.

  The Plan Soleil Initiative was France’s drive to introduce solar thermal water heating into residencies and buildings. Central to the campaign were communication efforts to educate citizens on the benefits of the program and government subsidies to make the technology more affordable.

• Viessmann: Own Production Facility for Vacuum Tubes in China-

  Viessmann will expand its own production plant for vacuum tubes near Beijing, China. The German manufacturer for heating systems had bought into an already existing German-Chinese joint venture in autumn of 2007. The German company Eurocol GmbH held 51% on the manufacturer Eurocon.

• France: Process Heat Application at Viessmann’s Faulquemont Factory -

  German heating systems manufacturer Viessmann operates a solar process heat system at its factory in Faulquemont, France. 260 m² of the new heat pipe vacuum tube collector Vitosol 200-T have been installed on the roof and at the facade of the building. The system is used for heating up an alkaline cleaning bath to up to 60°C, in order to degrease hot water storage units before enamelling.
  Photo: Viessmann

• Viessmann ordered a new Laser Welding Machine in Austria-

  Next April, a laser welding machine from the Austrian machinery supplier Dtec will come into operation in the Viessmann Factory in Falquemont, France.
  Photo: Dtec

• Intersolar Speakers present latest figures of key Solar Thermal Markets-

  Several well-known speakers shared their market figures from key solar thermal markets worldwide with the audience of the Global Solar Thermal Markets session at the Intersolar Conference at the beginning of June. Whereas India and Brazil maintain high growth rates, the European solar heating and cooling sector has to again cope with a decline of now 13 % in 2010 compared to the previous year. The chart shows the developments of markets with a volume of 200,000 and 500,000 m². It is part of the 16-page brochure “Solar Thermal Markets in Europe”, which the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) presented at the Intersolar.
  Figure: ESTIF

• Estec 2011, Marseille-

  The 5th European Solar Thermal Energy Conference – ESTEC 2011 – is expected to attract over 500 participants in Marseille, the City of the Sun! This definitive event for the solar thermal industry brings together key players in the field of solar thermal to share the latest information on market trends, political and regulatory developments as well as on innovations. In 2011, for the first time, an entire session will be wholly dedicated to installers, central to the sector’s success.
  

• Tunisia: First Steps towards introducing Qualisol and Solar Keymark -

  Quality label for installers: By adapting French installer certification Qualisol, Tunisia's market development project Prosol has already entered “the 3rd Dimension” of quality control since its launch in 2005. Training is provided by the National Chamber of Renewable Energies (CNSEnR) after which installers will have to pass an exam to use the label in shop windows, ads, offers and invoices. Tunisia is a perfect example of quality-oriented solar thermal market development.

• Algeria: Roll-out of the first Phase of Subsidy Programme ALSOL-

  The Algerian solar water heating programme ALSOL went into its first pilot phase. 400 residential systems with a 200 litre storage tank have been subsidised at around 45 % of the investment costs, capped at Algerian Dinar (DZD) 110,000. The licenses for installing the 400 subsidised systems were distributed among 15 solar thermal system suppliers in January. Largely, those thermosiphon systems consist of 1 collector, as can be seen on the photo on the left.
  Photo: SCET Energie

• Austria: Solar District Heating Workshop and Plant Visit Tour -

  Solar District Heating (SDH) is making its first step into the market. According to the website of IEE project “SDHtake-off - Solar District Heating in Europe”, experts estimate a long-term potential for solar district heat of 5% and an annual solar heat production of roughly 30 TWh_th. From 16 to 17 March 2011, the initiators of the SDHtake-off will hold a Workshop and Plant Visit Tour on solar district heating. The event will take place in Graz, Austria.

• USA: Second Workshop for Solar Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration-

  The 2nd Workshop for Solar Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration, taking place in Las Vegas on 2 February, will bring together top experts from Europe and North America - among them Christian Holter, SOLID (Austria), Steve Hunter, Vanir Energy (California/US), Daniel Mugnier, TECSOL (France), and Tom Lopp, Power Partners, Athens (Georgia/US).

• Austria: Number of new Jobs in the Solar Thermal Sector underestimated-

  The Austrian government seems to underestimate the number of jobs which the solar thermal sector could create over the next ten years. In the “Masterplan green jobs” published in October 2010, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Environment estimates that around 66,000 new jobs are going to be created in the renewable sector by 2020 if the share of renewable electricity and heat increases to 34 % within the next ten years.

• Europe: 2011 Conferences dedicated to Solar Heating and Cooling-

  In Europe, only a few conferences focus exclusively on solar heating and cooling in 2011. Most events combine both solar thermal technology and photovoltaics, with two-thirds of the schedule being reserved for solar electricity and only one third for solar thermal. Please check the event calendar for more information about these events. The few events in 2011 that deal only with solar heating and cooling (and have been included in the event calendar, too) are listed in the following:

• Eurexpo 2011, Lyon- Eurexpo 2011 will take place from 15 to 18 February 2011 in Lyon. The conference and exhibition "Salon des energies renouvelables" is widely recognised as one of France’s most important renewable energy events, attracting a high number of professionals, leading experts. The conference will cover the topics of photovoltaics, solar thermal, wood energy, CO2, sustainable building, investments and energy efficiency. In 2009 more than 300 international companies exhibited their expertise, services, products and equipments.
• NREAPs: Only 8 countries to plan with significant Area and Growth Rates-

  Clear-cut concepts and mandatory targets to protect the climate was what the European Commission requested from the 27 EU members as they created their National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs). On 30 June 2010, 23 states delivered their national version – with meagre success for solar thermal technology. Carried out by the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF), an analysis of the presently available NREAPs shows that only the 8 countries displayed in the figure above included significant collector area and growth rates in their plans lasting until 2020.
  Source: ESTIF

• ESTIF: Call for Paper for estec 2011-

  The 5th European Solar Thermal Energy Conference (estec) will take place in Marseilles, France, on 20 and 21 October 2011. The international event is organised by both the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) and the French solar energy association Enerplan and, supported by Ademe, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency.

• 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

• Norway: Building Cooperative OBOS invests into Collector Manufacturer Aventa-

  OBOS, the largest Nordic building cooperative, has become a major shareholder of Norwegian solar company Aventa AS. The latter is specialized in the production of solar thermal collectors made entirely of high-performance polymers. The photo shows Aventa collectors mounted on the south-facing wall of a building in Oslo.
  Photo: Aventa

• Solar Cooling: 20 Questions assess Project Success Rate -

  Can a solar cooling system be integrated in my building or my industrial processes? Answering this question with a simple Yes or No is not as easy as it seems. If a solar cooling system turns out to be a feasible investment largely depends on the parameters of the existing heating and cooling system, required temperatures, cooling times, and regional fossil fuel and electricity prices. To see if a solar cooling installation will be a good choice, French engineering company Tecsol is now offering a free-of-charge, online check list on its website: http://www.tecsol.fr/checklist/
  
  

• European Solar Days: Around 6,600 Events in 17 European Countries-

  Everything revolves around the sun: 17 European countries participate in the 3rd edition of the European Solar Days from 1 to 16 May 2010. Around 6,600 events are planned for this year’s campaign, involving several hundred thousand citizens at a local level.
  Photo: Fotostudio Pflueg

• France: More than 9,000 Quality Checks of Solar Thermal Systems-

  The quality of solar water heaters is improving steadily. Evidence of this trend can be found in the results of the 8,000 Qualisol audits, which have been carried out since 2007. Within four years, the share of “excellent” installations more than doubled, from 20 to 55.5 %. The share of “poor” installations shrank from 10 to 3 %.
  Source: Qualit'EnR

• France: Heat Fund for Solar Thermal Collective Systems-

  At the beginning of 2009, Ademe started a support scheme called “Heat Fund” (Fonds Chaleur) to provide for more large-scale solar thermal systems in older buildings, hotels, campsites, hospitals and military barracks. 70 to 80 % of the preparatory study costs are subsidized, as well as 70 to 80 % of the investment costs, with subsidy funds being divided between the government and the single regions.

   

• France: Dissatisfying Market Development in 2009-

  Collective systems are on the rise in France: This photo shows the youth hostel of the Association Logis des Jeunes de Provence in the city of Cannes in the South of France. Photo: Enerplan

• 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:

• Seizing the Solar Solution: Combating Climate Change through Accelerated Deployment (2009)-

  This report was published on December 2009, parallel to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) summit taking place in Copenhagen, to bring authorities' attention to solar energy and the relevant contribution it can provide to reducing GHG emissions.

• Renewables for Heating and Cooling (2007)- This document, prepared by the International Energy Agency, comes as a follow-up of the 2006 seminar “Renewable heating and cooling – from RD&D to deployment technology and policy” aimed at exploring guidelines and policy initiatives to boost technology development and market deployment for renewable heating and cooling (REHC).
• Which are the major solar thermal markets worldwide?-

  By far the largest solar thermal market in the world according to newly installed solar thermal capacity per year is China. In 2008, around 21 GW_th (30 million m²) were sold in China, which was around 80 % of the world global solar thermal market.

• German Heating Giant presents Selective Absorber Coating-

  Viessmann manager Stefan Hirzinger (right) describes the company's new coating as, “one of the best selective coatings available on the market”. The product passed the accelerated life testing under the name Task X.
  Photo: Joachim Berner

• REPAP2020: Roadmap Fixes 2020 Targets for the Solar Share in the Heating and Cooling Sector-

  Some countries in Europe have made plans for using solar energy to cover between 1 and 4% of their gross final demand of heating and cooling by 2020. The states with the most ambitious targets regarding their national sector are Portugal, Germany and France.
  Source: National RES Industry Roadmaps

• Barriers to Technology Diffusion: the Case of Solar Thermal Technologies (2006)-

  This joint paper from the OECD and IEA (October 2006) looks into the different barriers that exist which prevent solar thermal technologies to deliver its real potential. Next to listing the barriers, the document also looks into means to overcome these, the existing technologies & markets and identifies best practices which can be used by policy makers in both industrialised and developing countries.

  Three barriers to diffusion are analysed in more detail:

  (1) Technical barriers,

  (2) Economic barriers and

• Task 43: Worldwide Harmonisation of Solar Rating and Certification Procedures -

  The international harmonisation of norms is advancing: On behalf of operating agent Jan Erik Nielsen from Plan Energi, experts are working on the alignment of EN and ISO norms under Task 43 of the Solar Heating & Cooling Programme managed by the International Energy Agency.
  Photo: ITW

• France: Qualisol – A Quality Scheme for Installers-

  Qualit’EnR manages the solar thermal installers label Qualisol and offers a wide range of services to qualified installation companies, such as: listing on the web portal (www.qualit-enr.org), free technical assistance, advertising and communications material and the Qualit’EnR newsletter.

• France already set Targets in 2007: Great efforts to reach them-

  France is the frontrunner in Europe in terms of implementing political frame conditions for solar thermal technology. The government already approved the country's energy law, the so-called “Grenelle de l’Environnement“, in 2007. Richard Loyen, Secretary General of the French Solar Energy Association Enerplan, explained that the law, “more or less anticipated the implementation of the RES Directive” when he spoke during an association workshop organized by the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) in Brussels last December.

• France: Solar Heating and Cooling Development Programme- A number of 15 to 30 well-performing solar heating and cooling systems is expected to be subsidized due to the new Solar Heating and Cooling Development Programme in France. After one year of preparations, the programme was launched in January 2010 and will end in June 2012. 
  
• European Solar Days Kick-off Today-

  The second European Solar Days are celebrated from 15 to 22 May with more than 500.000 citizens participating in 7.000 events in 15 European countries.

• Examples of Success stories from France-

  The “PLAN SOLEIL” (2000 – 2006) was a programme aiming to boost the solar thermal applications in France.

   “Plan Soleil” was considered to providing very strong incentives and measures. It is based on the following actions:

• Solar Energy Activities in IEA Countries 2005 - This 2005 report on solar energy activities in IEA (International Energy Agency) Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (SHC) countries provides an overview of national activities and key trends of a total of 13 countries. Detailed information is offered on national solar activities, notably on the status of government policies, funding levels, R&D, technology advances, and commercial development. Each report further concludes with an outlook for solar over the next five years in that country.
• QualiCert Newsletter - December 2009- The first edition of the QualiCert Project Newsletter
  Newsletter N1 -
• 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:

• PROCESOL II: Solar thermal plants in industrial processes – Design and maintenance guidelines (2002)- PROCESOL II project intends to promote the use of solar thermal systems coupled with heat recovery technologies in the industrial sector in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, France and Belgium.
• Thermosiphon Systems from New Caledonia-

  Williams Danger and Caroline Hubert of Sun Ray, a manufacturer of thermosiphon systems, came to Intersolar from New Caledonia, east of Australia, making them the solar thermal exhibitor farthest from home. Photo: Bärbel Epp

• IRENA: Headquarters in the United Arab Emirates-

  “It was very important to us to offer IRENA a value proposition  by engaging with developing and developed nations alike,” his Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of UAE, explains the choice of building the IRENA headquarters in his country. Photo: Worldnews

• European Policies on Renewables- This presentation from Teun Bokhoven (Vice President of ESTIF - The European Solar Thermal Industry Federation) provides an overview of the solar thermal market in Europe as at October 2007. The document also looks at the impact of EU regulation that affects the industry, in particular: - Renewable Energy Directive, - Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, - ECO Design Directive, - Energy Services Directive Click here to see the Presentation
• REFUND+ Final Report (2009)-

  The REFUND + project (2006-2009), supported by the Intelligent Energy Europe and ADEME (Agence de l'environnement et de la maîtrise de l'énergie), intends to identify, monitor and evaluate the impact of incentive schemes on the development of RES heating systems in private households in five countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal. Implementation of specific financial instruments was simulated in two case studies in Lithuania and Poland.

• Solar Heating Systems for Houses (2003)-

  This book from 2003 presents the collaborative work of international experts from research, industry and academia in the IEA solar heating and cooling programme's Task 26, Solar Combisystems

  The book details methods for analysing and optimising combisystems for different house types and introduces standardised classification and evaluation processes and design tools for these systems. Furthermore the book addresses the need for guidelines in selecting and designing the appropriate system according to the specific needs of the building and the local environment.

• Harnessing Solar for District Energy: Europe Leading the Way- This article offers an outline to the solar district heating market in Europe and in particular outlines the trend to diurnal storage and heat-driven cooling applications. A SWOT analysis of the industry points to technical and non-technical barriers for market development, but highlights that among others combined heating and cooling offer advantages to the sector. The greatest potential for market development is foreseen for Germany, France, UK, Poland, Netherlands and Belgium. Information on centralised solar heating plants is also included.
• Solar Thermal Markets in Europe 2009-

  This 8-page report from ESTIF from 2009 provides information on the key national markets with 2008 data on newly installed collectors based on area and capacity.

  It states that the European market has grown by 60% in 2008.

  Download document here or read it here.

   

• Collective Systems on the Rise in France-

  The segment of collective systems shows high growth rates in France: The main factor behind this growth are the incentives paid by Ademe, the France Energy Agency. The investment for the solar thermal system on top of this multi-storey building in Paris was €353,000 of which 39 % were subsidised by Ademe. Photo: Enerplan

• European Solar Days- The next European Solar Days will be celebrated from 1 to 16 May 2010 in 16 European countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia , Spain, Switzerland, Denmark , Norway, Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Hungary, Poland and Sweden. The two weeks event is coordinated by the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) in close co-operation with the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and supported by 24 organisations at a national and European level.
• International Technology Collaboration and Climate Change Mitigation - Case Study 1: CSP technologies (2004)-

  This case study from 2004 was prepared by the OECD and IEA secretariats and reviews past and current experiences in international collaboration in the field of CSP technologies. In addition to identifying the success stories and the failures of CSP related international collaboration, the case study also lists four important lessons:

  1) International collaboration may help, but domestic policy decisions remain decisive

  2) In technology transfer non-financial barriers must not be underestimated

• Dynamic Growth Throughout the European Solar Thermal Sector -

  Estec2009 – a meeting point for solar thermal experts in Europe: Around 400 representatives of associations, as well as manufacturers, politicians and researchers discussed trends, potentials and obstacles of the solar thermal sector. Photo: Bärbel Epp

• Tax Credits for Home Owners in France-

  Since 2005, home owners in France have profited from 50% tax credits for solar thermal systems. They can deduct the investment costs of the solar thermal system, excluding man-hours, when filing their tax return and therefore reduce the tax payment by 50 % of the investment costs.

   

• International Experiences with the Promotion of Solar Water Heaters (SWH) at Household-level-

  The objective of this paper is to analyse and evaluate international experiences with the promotion of solar water heaters at household level.

  During the compilation of this study, it became apparent that responsible organisations did not pay much attention to a distinct monitoring and an explicit evaluation of promotion programmes. The study shows which promotion measures resulted particularly successful, which difficulties occurred during their implementation and how these circumstances possibly could have been avoided.

• Promotion of Solar Water Heaters- This 55-page study "International Experiences with the Promotion of Solar Water Heaters on Household-level", published in October 2006, introduces possible promotion mechanisms for solar water heaters on a household-level. Criteria for their assessment are defined in compliance therewith. The main focus of this paper is on describing and evaluating international experiences with promotion mechanisms in Germany, Greece, France, Tunisia, and Barcelona. Further information: www.gtz.de/en/praxis/12538.htm
• Salon des energies renouvelables, Lyon- The conference and exhibition "Salon des energies renouvelables" is widely recognised as one of France’s most important renewable energy events, attracting a high number of professionals, leading experts. Last year over 150 companies exhibited their expertise, services, products and equipments. The conference covers the topics of photovoltaics, solar thermal, wood energy, CO2, sustainable building, investments and energy efficiency.
• ENERGAÏA, Salon Internatinal des Énergies Renouvelables, Montpellier- Last year the fair and conference ENERGAÏA gathered 203 exhibitors, over 9,500 trade visitors from 63 countries and 1,200 delegates to the international conference and established itself as a major international trade exhibition for renewable energies and green building at the French Market and in the Mediterranean countries. This year again, ENERGAÏA is organised in cooperation with many international supporting organisations and is considered as the forum for business opportunities where innovation and solutions of renewable energies are presented in a global approach.