Enerplan

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.

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

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

The new President of the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) is Robin Welling, Managing Director of Austrian collector manufacturer and system supplier Tisun, as well as Managing Director of Tisun LLC in New York. At the beginning of December, Welling was elected in Brussels by the General Assembly for a two-year period. He takes over from Olivier Drücke, who held the position between 2008 and 2010.
Photo: Tisun

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.