Germany
21. Symposium Thermische Solarenergie, Bad Staffelstein
The 21th Symposium “Solar Thermal Technologie” organized by the Eastbavarian Institute for Technology Transfer, OTTI e.V. takes place from 11 - 13 May 2011 at the former German monastery Banz, Bad Staffelstein. Main topics are the latest technical developments but also aspects of economy and market policy. Architects will find a forum to discuss problems and experiences in planning and realization of buildings with solar thermal systems. The Symposium is supplemented by an extensive exhibition with the latest developments in the solar industry.
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.
Mexico: Vacuum tubes in 48 % of residential Solar Water Heaters
The marketing campaign for solar hot water systems in the residential sector in Mexico, Procalsol (2007 to 2012), bore fruit: According to the annual market statistics of the National Association of Solar Energy (ANES), the newly installed collector area in households almost tripled from 53,183 m2 in 2008 to 132,934 m2 last year.
Solar Thermal Power for Talitha Kumi: Corporate Support Where it Matters (2009)
This pamphlet was created by the public-private partnership of the German company MAN Ferrostaal, the German Energy Agency, and the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. Its focus is on how this public-private partnership brought a solar thermal system to a school in the Middle East, its positive social benefit, and how it is opening doors to the development of the Middle Eastern solar thermal market.
India: Two Solar Desalination Pilot Projects by Tinox-Mage
One box on three Euro palettes brings the desalination unit to the site: The MiniSal 1000 purifies up to 1,000 litres of sea or brackish water per day like this installation in the town of Al-Hail in Oman. The first two pilot projects in India are already under way.
Photo: Mage Water Management
Slovakia: Thermosolar doubles Production Capacity
Solar exterior with collectors produced in Slovakia: The company Thermosolar has just recently invested EUR 1.5 million in upgrading the machinery in its factory in Žiar nad Hronom, in order to increase productivity and reach a manufacturing capacity of 500,000 m2 per year.
Photo: Thermosolar
Mexico: Two Collector Manufacturers upgrade their Collector Production
Products turn out big at Kioto Clear Energy: Sales and Marketing Director Marlon Rechberger (left) and General Manager Klaus Maier present a laser-welded absorber produced by the newly purchased laser-welding machine.
Photo: Kioto Clear Energy
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.
Renewables for Heating and Cooling (2007)
This document, prepared by the International Energy Agency, comes as a follow-up of the 2006 seminar “Renewable heating and cooling – from RD&D to deployment technology and policy” aimed at exploring guidelines and policy initiatives to boost technology development and market deployment for renewable heating and cooling (REHC).
Germany: Incentive Programme continues under new Conditions
After many weeks of waiting and worrying, it is now official: On 7 July, the budget committee of the German parliament unblocked the EUR 115 million funds intended for the country's market incentive programme (MAP). The German Federal Environment Ministry (BMU), which is responsible for the MAP, confirmed in a press release a day later that, as of 12 July, applications are accepted again.
