Finance and Incentives

Acquiring affordable loans for large solar thermal plants is a challenging task. On 30 January, the industry association Austria Solar organised a meeting between representatives of the banking and investment sector, engineering companies, solar companies and industrial customers for process heat. The less than a dozen attendees, many of them CEOs, gave the meticulously planned workshop its exclusive touch. According to Roger Hackstock of Austria Solar, all parties learned a lot about each other. They also agreed to work together more closely in the future.
Figure: Thommy Weiss / pixelio.de

The Australian solar thermal market has not actually recovered since the boom year 2009. According to the Head of the Renewable Department of Rheem Australia Pty Ltd, Chris Mundy, the total installed collector area in 2011 again decreased by around 13 % to 100,000 systems. In 2009, around 150,000 systems had found a buyer in Australia. The company is still advertising the subsidies that have been granted around the country, but these subsidies will stop in June 2012. This means that economic prospects will likely remain difficult this year.
Source: www.solahart.com.au

The Indian state of Rajasthan has strongly supported the market for solar thermal technology. Since 2004, the state in the northwest of India has had a comprehensive mandatory law for solar water heaters: Solar energy use has been an essential requirement in setting up new hospitals, sports complexes, swimming pools, hostels, barracks, hotels, industrial buildings in which hot water is needed to process the goods, as well as public buildings and residential buildings with a plot size of 500 m² and above. In 2011, the state government has also granted an indirect subsidy to residential users of Solar Water Heaters (SWH). Having come into force three months ago, the scheme allows every SWH user to receive a rebate on its electricity bill of INR 0.25 INR/kWh of electricity, capped at a maximum of INR 300 per month – independent of the age of the system.
Photo courtesy: Jaideep Malaviya

This is a presentation from Mr. Mohab Hallouda (World Bank Energy Specialist) during the “MENA Energized: Regional Challenges to "Green the Power" Sector” event held in in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. It was jointly organized by the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) and the Euro Mediterranean Energy Market Integration Project (MED-EMIP).

This presentation was delivered during the UNEP (United National Environment Programme) Regional Workshop jointly held with OLADE (the Latin American Energy Organization) in Chile (June 2011) in the framework of the Solar Water Heating Transformation and Strengthening Initiative. Its author is Mr. Luis Manzano from the Ecuadorian government.

The Programme for an Increased Usage of Biomass and Solar Energy in Households in Slovakia, which was launched in April 2009, has now exceeded its budget. Although applications were accepted until 30 October 2011, the Ministry of Economy had already announced on 27 October 2011 that the number of subsidy applications had overtaken the funds available for the programme. All submitted applications are going to be evaluated in order of their submission date. The map illustrates the geographical spread of the approved applications depending on the respective solar sector and is published by the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA).
Source: www.siea.sk

This is an interview with Kutay Ülke from the company Ezinç. Ezinç is one of the main collector and storage tank producers in Turkey. Kutay Ülke speaks about the company products and training activities. He also explains the development of the Turkish solar thermal market even if there are no incentives from the government.

This report was written by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. It provides information on the goals and structure of the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020 as it pertains to solar thermal hot water heating.

This is a presentation delivered by Mr. Noureddine Ketari from the Tunisian Institute Aptitudes during the Regional Workshop on Standardization and Certification of Solar Water Heaters organized by the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) in Tunisia.

On 22 December 2011, the Polish Ministry of Economy presented the draft of a new Renewable Energy Sources Law. It includes a renewable building obligation for the private and public sector, as well as a one-time tax deduction for private solar thermal customers (in addition to the grants offered by the Polish National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, NFOŚiGW). The new regulations are thought to boost the Polish solar thermal market in the long term. At first, the RES Law was said to be introduced on July 1, 2012. However, delays in legislative procedures will most likely postpone the new regulations to later this year, so that they are going to take full effect in 2013.
Source: Wikipedia