In this issue

Italy: 55 % Tax Deductions until 30 June 2013


New Government in Serbia – New Hope for Solar Thermal Energy?


Lebanon Launches First Qualification Programme in Middle East

Europe/Asia: Solar Cooling Gains Traction

India: Less than One Year to Pay Back Textile Industry’s Solar Preheating

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Unclaimed Renewable Heat Grant Scandal
GSTEC RHG Scandal

Dear Solarthermalworld.org Reader,
Demand for the solar thermal incentive programmes in California and Great Britain is still far below expectations. Within the California Solar Initiative – Thermal, around 800 applications for solar water heaters are competing with 120,000 applications for photovoltaic systems - a big gap, even if the PV programme was launched three years earlier. Regarding the UK, the situation does not look much better: In the first 9 months, there was only one solar thermal installation which was subsidised by the Renewable Heat Incentive, compared to 136 biomass boilers receiving funding during the same period. It is what a UK climate change blogger titled “the scandal of the unclaimed renewable heat grants”. The UK industry says that the PR efforts for solar have heavily favoured PV over the last three years and that the renewable heat market is now following biomass with great interest. The administrators of the CSI –Thermal are trying to change solar thermal’s marginal role by increasing the incentive level and launching a marketing campaign. The photo shows one of the first large solar thermal installations which benefited from the CSI subsidy in April 2011. It was installed on the roof of the Santa Clara University in California.

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The Solarthermalworld.org Team
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Italy: 55 % Tax Deductions until 30 June 2013
by Valeria Verga

The latest amendments to Italy’s tax deduction policies resulted in good - and bad - news. According to the “Decree on Growth”, which became effective on 25 July 2012, the 55% tax deductions will stay unchanged for another six months, until 30 June 2013. Originally, the tax reductions were to expire on 31 December 2012, with the Decree on Growth draft reducing the percentage to 50%. So far, so good! But, Italy’s solar thermal industry association Assolterm also had some other requests – which were not met.

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New Government in Serbia – New Hope for Solar Thermal Energy?
by Frank Stier
 
GSTEC 2

At the end of July, Serbia elected a new government led by socialist Prime Minister Ivica Dačić. He promised to follow through with the integration of the country into the European Union. “A law on the efficient use of energy has already been written, but not been adopted yet,” Selena Pješivac, Advisor Communications and Public Relations at the Serbian Energy Efficiency Agency (SEEA), says. This law would lay the foundation for an energy efficiency fund, a fund which could also subsidise solar thermal technology.

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Lebanon Launches First Qualification Programme in Middle East
by Bärbel Epp

Lebanon’s National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) from 2011 to 2015 bears first fruits. The Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) has successfully implemented a prequalification scheme for solar water heater manufacturers and suppliers. The first prequalification round started at the end of 2010 and has already led to the qualification of more than 55 companies. The scheme enables SWH companies to benefit from the national subsidy programme, which offers SWH clients a USD 200 subsidy in addition to an interest-free loan.

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Europe/Asia: Solar Cooling Gains Traction
by Eva Augsten
 
gstec3

Large Japanese and Chinese companies have recently taken a greater interest in solar cooling. The photo shows an installation by Chinese company Jiangsu Huineng New Energy Technology, which started supplying solar cooling systems this year. Sakura Air Conditioner from Japan has also added a solar cooling system to its product range. The big Japanese company Hitachi has offered a solar cooling kit since 2011 and is aiming at a turnover of EUR 44 million from solar cooling by 2015. “The announcements of major industrial corporations give new momentum to an already dynamic solar cooling market," Uli Jakob, Vice Chairman of the German sorption chiller association Green Chiller, noted.

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India: Less than One Year to Pay Back Textile Industry’s Solar Preheating
by Jaideep Malaviya

Coimbatore located in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu is called the "Manchester of South India" because of its large textile industry, which is fed by the surrounding cotton fields. More than 150 medium and large textile companies reside in and around Coimbatore. The boilers used in these factories consume a lot of fuel, with temperature requirements of up to 80°C. This makes it ideal to use solar collector fields as pre-heating for the existing boilers. Thanks to good frame conditions, the systems can be paid back in less than one year, as the example of the Amudham Sizing Mill shows. The solar thermal system provider Hykon has already delivered and installed around 10 solar thermal systems in this area.

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NEWS TICKER
Germany: Environment Ministry Pushes up Solar Process Heat Subsidies
India: Mandatory Use of Solar Water Heaters Not Welcome
Brazil: IPT Inaugurates Test Lab with Solar Simulator
Romania: A Subsidy Scheme and its Implementation Problems
Solar Process Heat: “Higher Yield than in Domestic Applications”