EIA

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).

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

In 2008, the global solar thermal market grew by a significant 35%. The main reasons behind such a strong upward trend were the high growth rates of glazed water collectors in China (+35 %), Europe (+63 %) and North America (+42 %). Graphic: AEE Intec

This report was released in 2010, but provides an overview and tables with historical data from 1999-2008. It was prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and it gives a summary of total shipments and manufacturing trends in 2008 in the U.S.

In 2008, active manufacturers and importers rose from 60 to 74, and almost 17 million square feet of solar thermal collectors were shipped. This was also on the rise from 15.2 million square feet in 2007.

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

This is a timeline covering 1974 – 1995 with brief summaries of solar thermal news including policies, finances, projects, associations and new development regarding solar thermal energy on a year-to-year basis.

Go to EIA website and read the timeline

The extension of the federal tax credits by eight years and the election of Barack Obama have suddenly made the U.S. market for solar thermal energy far more attractive. The importance of imports of collectors and systems is growing. The number of flat plate and evacuated tube collectors has increased more than tenfold within three years according to the statistics of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) from 3,000 m2 (2005) to 36,000 m2 (2007).

The US-American domestic solar heating and cooling market grew by 31 % in 2007, after the rapid climb of 77 % in 2006. These are figures from the annual statistics of the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which publishes the official energy statistics of the U.S. Government. In total 150,000 m² of collector area was shipped last year (against 111,000 m² in 2006). The EIA assumes that only 2 % of the total shipment was exported last year; the home market volume was thus 147,000 m².