Switzerland

• Great Britain: Low Impact of RHI on Solar Thermal Market -

  Five months after the introduction of the Renewable Heating Incentive for commercial installations, the scheme’s effect on the solar thermal sector is almost zero. Of the 21 renewable heating systems approved by the end of April 2012, 16 are solid biomass boilers, 4 heat pump projects – and only one is a solar thermal system. The same imbalance can be found across all of the applications submitted to the RHI authorities. There are only 7 solar thermal projects among the 485 sent-in papers, the RHI helpline of Ofgem, UK’s electricity and gas regulator, confirmed at the beginning of May. Ofgem is in charge of paying the feed-in tariff to the owners of renewable heating systems. 80 % to 90 % of the submitted projects are based on biomass. The remaining projects all include a heat pump solution.
  Source: Ofgem

• Germany: ‘Green Alliance’ Bears First Fruits-

  About one year ago, a German system provider in the field of surface technology, Eisenmann AG, and German Ritter XL Solar GmbH, a company specialised in large-scale solar thermal installations, joined forces to form the „Green Alliance“. Its aim was to promote solar process heat, especially in paint plants. Now, the alliance has borne first fruits: The joint venture has got its first order for a 400 m² solar thermal plant at Zehnder Group, Switzerland.
  Photo: Ritter XL Solar

• European Solar Days Expect more than Half a Million Participants-

  Grassroots campaign drums up enthusiasm for clean energy: From Tuesday, 1 May, to Sunday, 13 May, hundreds of thousands of European citizens are gathering at locations all across the continent to show their interest in solar energy during the European Solar Days (ESD). At hundreds of events, the ESD will demonstrate to audiences, such as policy makers and companies - but particularly to individual citizens - the benefits of using solar energy to generate heat and electricity. The nearly two-week campaign includes showcasing solar thermal and solar PV technologies, trainings for company staff, doors open days, street events for children, balloon release and many more.
  Photo: Fotostudio Pflueg

• Switzerland: Solar Thermal Industry calls for Rooftop Privileges-

  Reserving the roofs of residential houses in Switzerland for solar thermal installations: This is the major item from the request by the two well-known solar thermal manufacturers in Switzerland, Jenni Energietechnik and Soltop Schuppisser.
  Photo: Jenni

• Germany: Minitec sells Assembly Line with certified Collector -

  Pressing the red button: The SolarThermal Competence Centre (STCC) of German machinery supplier Minitec GmbH & Co. KG was inaugurated at the end of August by Margit Conrad, the Minister for Environment, Forest and Consumer Protection of the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Centre demonstrates the standardized and streamlined serial production of high-quality collectors.
  

• More Research Needed for New Storage Materials-

  If solar energy is to be the primary or only source of heat for houses in the future, there will arise a need for storing it more efficiently. Materials have to be found that are able to hold more energy than water, but with less volume and higher loss. Task 32 of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Solar & Cooling programme was working on this issue. The scientists presented their results at the Eurosun 2008 in Lisbon, at the beginning of October.

• Switzerland: Solar Association Calls for Actions to Push Market-

  In 2011, the newly-installed collector area for hot water and space heating in Switzerland increased by around 1.5% compared to the previous year. This is the result of a recent market survey that has been conducted on behalf of the Swiss industry association Swissolar. A total of 100,000 solar thermal systems have been installed on Swiss roofs by now. But according to Swissolar, this number represents only a small fraction of the country’s solar thermal potential.
  Photo: helvetic energy

• 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
• Performance Analysis of a Solar Heating System Coupled to a Heat Pump for Building Renovation Purposes (2009)-

  The paper was presented by Mr. Jacques Bony and Mr. Stéphane Citherlet from the Laboratory of Solar Energetics and Buildings Physics (Switzerland) in the framework of Task 44 of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme. It presents the energy and economic performances of facilities coupling heat pumps with air heater equipped with solar thermal collectors. The study was done employing a TRNSYS-type dynamic simulation.

• On the Potential of Using Heat from Solar Thermal Collectors for Heat Pump Evacuators (2011)-

  This is a study presented by members of the Swiss Institut für Solartechnik during the ISES Solar Word Congress held in Kassel, Germany (28 August - 2 September 2011). Part of the IEA SHC Task 44, the paper researches the benefits and performances of using heat from solar collectors for the evaporator of the heat pump instead of using the heat directly.

• Solar Thermal Markets in Europe. Trends and Market Statistics 2010 (2011)-

  As in previous years, ESTIF, the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation, has issued this publication with detailed data and numbers about the solar thermal market in the EU 27 and Switzerland in 2010.

  In 2010, the European solar thermal market totalled 2.586 MWth (3.694,940 m²) of newly installed capacity, decreasing by an estimated 13% in comparison with 2009 numbers.

  Click here to see the 2010 edition of this publication, referring to 2009 market data.

• Switzerland: Solar Thermal System Funding in 5 Polish Regions -

  The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has announced its strategy of how to support the solar thermal sector in Poland. Five Polish regions will receive a total of Swiss Franc (CHF) 55 million, mainly to subsidise solar thermal technology. Small parts of the budget, however, will also be spent on photovoltaic systems. By using their own financial and other resources, all private households and public facilities participating in these projects will have a substantial contribution in the programme's success . Seco plans to select four more solar thermal projects and provide additional funds of CHF 50 million to set them up.

• Solarwärme Schweiz 2012, Luzern-

  The first Swisssolar conference Solarwärme Schweiz 2012 will take place on 25 January at the Grand Casino in Luzern. The event focuses on the question how to revitalise the stagnating market for solar thermal. Key topics are:

  • The potential of solar thermal in Switzerland
    
  • Market opportunities through training
    
  • Sustainable market growth
    
  • Swissolar 2025 targets
    
• Australia: Vacuum Tube Collector with Overheating Protection-

  Chinese company Hejia Solar Energy presented a new collector type at the All-Energy Australia 2011 trade fair in Melbourne in October 2011. The collector’s automated coverage prevents the system from overheating during daily operation. The participation in the fair was organised jointly by the Chinese manufacturer of the new collector type, Heijia Solar, represented by Chief Engineer Pan Kexue, as well as CEO and owner of Hejia Solar, Wu Guosheng, and the Australian Sales Office OZ Hejia Solar, represented by Director Frank Witowski (middle).
  Photo: Oz Hejia Solar

• Swiss Bank Sarasin: World Market Reaches 45 GWth in 2011 -

  This week, the Swiss Bank Sarasin published the 12^th edition of their solar industry report, covering all three solar technologies: solar heating and cooling (ST), photovoltaics (PV), and concentrating solar power (CSP). The chapter on solar thermal identifies great differences in the market development of national markets and regions. While the Chinese market continues to shine, many European countries are suffering from decreasing or stagnating markets. Nevertheless, Sarasin predicts a great future, with a global average growth of 12% per year until 2020.

• Germany/Poland: Hydro Aluminium Pipes as Standard Product soon -

  Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro ASA announced its first clients to order aluminium tubes for the production of absorbers in a press release at the end of January. In the press release, the corporation named German collector manufacturer Solarbayer GmbH and Polish collector manufacturer Hewalex as the first to do so.
  Photo: Hydro

• Switzerland: Jenni Energietechnik AG expands Production Capacity-

  Orders for large solar storage tanks are on the rise: Swiss Jenni Energietechnik AG is currently expanding its production capacity to meet the greatly increased demand. At its Oberburg headquarters, the solar company is constructing a new building for the manufacturing of large storage tanks. According to CEO Josef Jenni, the additional facility will enable the company to produce five times as much as before.
  Photo: Jenni Energietechnik AG

• 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).

• New IEA Task for Solar Process Heat-

  At their meeting in June, the Executive Committee (ExCo) of the International Energy Agency (IEA) gave green light to a new task for solar process heat. The IEA-SHC (Solar Heating and Cooling) Task 49 – “Solar Process Heat for Production and Advanced Applications“ - will start in January 2012 and run for four years. The now rough outline of the task will be further specified in a second “Task Definition Meeting“ at the Solar World Congress in Kassel, Germany, on 2 September 2011. Task participants will then take the suggestions made by the ExCo to spell out the activities for solar process heat in more detail.

• Germany: Vacuum Tube Collectors withstand 40 mm Hailstones -

  The extra-thick double-glass vacuum tubes by German company Soltark have survived a test with 40 mm hailstones at the Swiss test institute SPF Solartechnik in Rapperswil. A systematic investigation of vacuum tubes at SPF Rapperswil two years ago showed that most of the 26 tested vacuum tube collectors were damaged after several hits with 35mm hailstones. In large parts of Switzerland, however, hail with a thickness of 30 mm must be expected at least once in 50 years (red-coloured areas in the above map). More and more Swiss building insurers are adopting rules for the hail resistance of solar collectors, which the owners hope to incorporate into already existing insurance contracts.

  Source: www.hagelregister.ch

• 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.

• The Market Potential of Micro-CHCP (2009)-

  This is a study assessing the market potential of small scale Combined Heating Cooling and Power (CHCP) in several European countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). The study is one of the final deliverables of the PolySMART Project (POLYgeneration with advanced small and medium scale thermally driven air-conditioning and refrigeration technology), an integrated project partly funded by the European Commission under 6th Framework Programme.

• 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

• 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

• Swiss: U-turn in Energy Policy-

  The 25 May may prove to be a historically important turn in Switzerland's energy policy: The Swiss Federal Council adopted a law stipulating that no new nuclear power stations are to be built in the country. The existing plants could run as long as the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) certifies they are safe. There are five nuclear power plants in Switzerland. The Swiss Federal Council calculates with each having an overall operation time of 50 years, which means the last power plant, Leibstadt, would be shut down in 2034.

• Switzerland: Support Mechanisms differ a lot at cantonal Level-

  Last year was the first in which all 26 Swiss cantons have had their own financial support mechanism for solar thermal. For a 5 m² solar thermal system, these subsidies cover, on average, 20% of the investment costs, plus tax reductions that go even up to 40%. But the amount of support does vary a lot. The chart shows the ten cantons with the highest incentive for solar thermal.
  Source: Swissolar

• „Solar thermal systems are used to improve the coefficient of performance of the heat pump”-

  Has observed the German solar thermal market for decades: Graduate engineer Dietmar Lange had, for many years, been Technical Director at various German collector manufacturers and solar thermal system providers until he became a freelance consultant two years ago. Solarthermalworld.org spoke with him about the technological trends and political developments on the largest European market.

• Switzerland: Geneva mandates 50 % solar share in hot water demand-

  The Canton of Geneva is the third one after Basel-Country and Vaud to have approved a mandate for a solar share in domestic hot water generation. Article 15.2 of the new energy law, which came into power in September 2010, stipulates that at least 30 % of a building's hot water demand is to be covered by a solar water heating system. This regulation applies to all sorts of new buildings, as well as to extensions and roof renovations of existing ones.

• Basel-Country: At Least 50 % Solar Share in Domestic Hot Water in New Buildings-

  More and more Swiss cantons approve mandatory laws or requirements for a solar share in the domestic hot water supply of residential, public or commercial buildings. These solar water heating systems were built on a voluntary basis.

• 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

• 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.

• USA: SRCC tackles Backlogs in Solar Thermal Testing and Certification-

  The US-based Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) is on the fast lane. Within only one and a half years SRCC has increased the number of accredited test labs from two to fourteen. Collector and system suppliers that want to enter the US-market can now address test institutes in Australia, Spain, Canada, Germany, China and Switzerland, as well as the US.

• South Africa: 140 m² of Collector Area on ABB Building in Johannesburg-

  Paulo Davids, Head of solar thermal projects at ABB South Africa, says that, “The payback period of the 140 m² system will most certainly be achieved within ten years and possibly even shorter if projected energy price increases are taken into account”.
  Photo: ABB

• 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.

• Comprehensive Testing of laser-welded Aluminium Absorbers-

  Shock, deformation, solidness and corrosion tests of laser-welded absorbers are all described in the “mirotherm absorber fact book”. This book can serve as a best practice resource for testing standards of new absorber and collector panels in the sector. Photo: Alanod

• European Facilities Testing Products for the US Market-

  Accredited for SRCC testing: The SPF Institute for Solar Technology from Switzerland is one of six European testing institutes being able to test collectors according to quality standards by the US-American Solar Rating & Certification Corporation.
  Photo: SPF Rapperswil

• Swiss Cantons leading Energy Policy Efforts- Switzerland is finally taking on a broader approach to climate protection. The majority of the 26 cantons have adopted a regulation placing the maximum share of non-renewable energies in new heating systems at 80 %. This decision can be traced back to an initiative of the Conference of Cantonal Energy Directors some years ago.
  
• Hungary: Minitec delivers a Laser-welding System to Velux-

  Laser-welding machine with a horizontal rotation table: This machine by the Switzerland manufacturer Minitec was ordered by the Danish Velux Group for its collector factory in Fertöd, Hungary. The worker can control the welding operation inside the machine on screen, while placing another pipe register and absorber on the rotation table.

• Central Solar Heating Plant with a Seasonal Storage in Heumatt, Switzerland (2003)-

  This report made by Dr. Daniel Pahud presents results of research undertaken to analyse the heat demand of three specific buildings in the Heumatt area in Zurich, involved in a central solar heating plant with seasonal storage (CSHPSS) project. The results presented in this study will provide information and data to produce a dynamic model for the whole system which will simulate the thermal performance to optimally size its main components.

• SEF Directory: Database of Lenders and Investors Worldwide- The Sustainable Energy Finance Directory (SEF) is a free-of-charge online database of lenders and investors who actively provide finance to the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector worldwide. "We support project developers, firms from the renewable energy sector, and communities that are looking for capital and suitable financing solutions," explains Kai Sametinger, who works at Germany’s Forseo GmbH. The Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE) of Switzerland founded the service in 2002 in cooperation with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• Collector Factory: All-in-One Solution-

  Quick, precise, tireless: Robots perform most of the collector manufacturing at the German heating systems manufacturer Vaillant. Photo: Vaillant

• Laser Welding Captures the Market-

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

• 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.

• Switzerland: Comprehensive Market Survey of Swissolar-

  2008 was a very good year for the solar thermal market in Switzerland: The figure shows the annually sold collector area of different technologies. Source: Swissolar market studies Solar Energy 2005 to 2007

• 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.
• 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

• Clariant: Heat carriers for high stagnation temperatures- At the beginning of August the Swiss company Clariant brought a new heat transfer medium for solar thermal systems out onto the market under the name Antifrogen Sol HT. The antifreeze has been designed to survive stagnation temperatures of over 270 °C unscathed.