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

About 200,000 m² of flat plate and vacuum tube collectors were shipped throughout the US-American market in 2008, according to the annual statistics of the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The annual report was published in January 2010, four months later than announced.
Source: www.eia.doe.gov

The dream team: This team of installers from New Zealand-based company Solar Technology Systems needed only a few days to install 300 m² of vacuum tube collectors on the roof of a swimming pool complex.
Photo: Solar Technology Systems

“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

The demonstration of best practise - a solar thermal system on the roof of the Saida Governmental Hospital - showed some technical deficiencies at second glance. The monitoring of the system led to a check list including preventive maintenance advice.
Photo: Solarnet

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.

Utilizing China's sun power to heat water in buildings: This solar collector field of 5,450 m2 was mounted on the roofs of the prominent Zhongshan University in Guangzhou, in the southern province of Guangdong.
Photo: Prosunpro

This 2009 Technical Assistance (TA) report from the Asian Development Bank outlines the support the Asian Development Bank can give to China for, among other issues, the development of a road map for concentrating solar power demonstration and deployment in the Gansu Province. In addition, it also has as objective to disseminate the knowledge to other provinces in China.

The result of the first bidding in the spring of 2009: 92 Chinese solar thermal system suppliers, offering a total of 806 products, qualified for the rural incentive programme. The figure shows the number of systems per price range in RMB (10 RMB is about 1 EUR).