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ESTIF anniversary: 10 years of strengthening the solar heating and cooling sector
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Dear Solarthermalworld.org reader, The
European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) celebrated its
ten-year anniversary with around 70 guests in Brussels, Belgium, at the
end of November. The organisers of the event remembered the ESTIF
founders presented them with the first pieces of the anniversary
cake. The former and newly elected President, Robin Welling, also lauded
the milestones of the young organisation. ESTIF has achieved great
success in bringing solar heating and cooling on the agenda of the
European Commission. It is now a good sign for ESTIF’s future that a
member of the German heating association BDH was elected to the ESTIF
board the day after the celebration. Best regards The editorial team
(Photo above ©Caroline Lessire)
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Poland: Combi Systems on the Rise
by Marcin Czekanski
The
Polish population is becoming more and more interested in combi solar
thermal systems: the share of residential combi systems for hot water
and space heating which are subsidised by the grant scheme of the
National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management,
NFOŚiGW, increased from 13% at the beginning of this year to 18% in
October. The growth in absolute numbers was even more impressive.
Whereas only 100 combi systems were installed in January, there were 377
- or more than three times as many - new installations in October,
according to NFOŚiGW data. The total number of subsidised residential
systems between January and October 2012 was 16,830, of which
16% were combi systems (2,730 systems).
Read more»
Turkey: High-quality Solar Hot Water Systems across Earthquake Area
by Eva Augsten
Turkish
collector and tank manufacturer Ezinç Metal San supplied, installed and
commissioned more than 11,000 of these systems. Another 1,355 systems
came from solar thermal system producer Ouraset, while several other
suppliers delivered and set up the remaining installations. "We are
deeply saddened by this great human tragedy. We have put a lot effort
into improving the quality of life of the survivors in the shortest time
possible, in order to contribute to the normalisation of life in the
city,” Hakan Alas, General Manager of Ezinç, says. The project was
initiated by the Housing Development Administration TOKI that required
uncommonly quality standards for the domestic Turkish market: in
addition to the local TSE certification, the collectors are closed-loop
pressurised systems, which include highly selective copper absorbers and
enamelled tanks, and have a Solar Keymark certification.
Read more»
Serbia: “Conditions for Solar Thermal Continue to Improve”
by Vladislava Adamenkova
The
solar thermal market in Serbia has grown noticeably over the last two
years. Most solar thermal projects are realised in the public sector, in
which installations have been subsidised for a few years now.
Solarthermalworld.org spoke with Miroslav Lambic, Chairman of the
Serbian Solar Association Srbija Solar, about the market situation and
the industry. The association estimates that more than 8,000 m2
of solar collector area have been installed in Serbia over the last
five years. Lambic supervised the drafting of a 300-page study on the
Serbian solar thermal market called “Solar Atlas”. The study was
published in Serbian in September 2011.
Read more»
Costa Rica: Training Course at Earth University
by Bärbel Epp
An
excellent campus, a highly motivated group of professionals and an
abundantly sunny country: Martin Schnauss is very satisfied with his
Costa Rican training course, which took place in the middle of November
at the international campus of the Earth University, a two-hour
drive from the country’s capital, San José. Together with his colleague
Katie Brown, Schnauss held the one-week training course about solar
heating and cooling technology in cooperation with the German Renewables
Academy AG (RENAC). The workshop addressed trainers and professionals
from Costa Rica, as well as from the neighbouring countries of Honduras,
Mexico and Guatemala.
Read more»
Germany: No Upturn in 2012
by Eva Augsten
Despite
a good start, 2012 has not seen any upturn in the German solar thermal
industry, as latest figures show. Carsten Kuhlmann from the heating
manufacturers association BDH expects a newly installed collector area
of 1.2 million m², which would be 5% less than in 2011. The number was
part of Kuhlmann’s presentation at the Forum Solarpraxis, a conference
in Berlin, Germany, at which scientists, associations and industry
representatives discussed the future of solar heating and cooling at the
end of November. The decline in the sales of solar thermal systems is
not a result of low sales in the German heating sector in general, as
Kuhlmann points out. The overall sales figure for new heating systems in
Germany has increased by 6% between 2011 and 2012.
Read more»
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