National Renewable Energy Action Plans

Last year’s sudden stop of the incentive programme Duurzame Warmte resulted in a drawback for the Dutch solar thermal industry. Still, Arthur de Vries from Holland Solar is convinced that 2012 and 2013 will be different: Probably even within the first quarter of this year, the Netherlands is going to have its own feed-in-tariff for renewable heat. Energy performance of new and existing buildings will be tested under stricter requirements and several provinces have launched their own incentive programme. The figure shows the annual installed solar thermal capacity in the Netherlands. It has increased significantly since the start of the Duurzame Warmte programme in September 2008.
Figure: ESTIF

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

This report, compiled by the Energy Research Centre from the Netherlands with the help of the European Environment Agency, has been published in February 2011 and illustrates the targeted levels of renewable energy production that the EU member-states want to obtain by 2020.

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

The Hungarian solar thermal industry is joining forces: In October 2010, it initiated the founding of the Hungarian solar association Magyar Szolár Szövetség, which will be authorised by the Hungarian administration most probably by the end of March. President of the new association is European Parliament member Bela Glattfelder (Photo), who shows great ambition. In addition to intense national lobbying, the association has joined forces with the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF).
Source: www.europarl.europa.eu

After a five-month delay, Belgium finally submitted its National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) in November 2010 - with quite ambitious targets for solar thermal: The cumulative collector area is to increase by a 22-fold, from 0.21 million m² in 2010 to 4.62 million m² in 2020. Tax credits and incentive programmes are thought to support the implementation. However, experts doubt its feasibility.
Source: NREAP/own calculations

Every fourth Greek household gets its hot water from heating with the sun. The solar market, however, stagnated in 2010. Substantial support mechanisms are needed to fulfil the objectives of the National Renewable Energy Action Plan.
Photo: Joachim Berner

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

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

Clearly committed to solar energy: During the Eurosun 2010 conference in Austria, ISES Europe President Dorota Chwieduk presented the ISES Europe Award 2010 to Jan-Olof Dalenbäck for the media campaign of Svensk solenergi (Solar Energy Association of Sweden). The award includes EUR 1,000 of prize money and recognizes outstanding promotion activities in the field of solar thermal and PV between 1 January 2009 and 1 May 2010.
Photo: Eurosun