Building regulations stabilise Spanish market
by Alejandro Diego Rosell

According to national solar energy association ASIT, the Spanish solar thermal market was up by 2 % and added 205,505 m² (144 MW_th) of collector area in 2018 compared to 2017. An increase in newbuilds was the main reason for that growth – a trend which is expected to continue for some time to come.

Up to 55 % investment subsidy for solar process heat
by Bärbel Epp

Solar process heat has been a focus of Germany’s Market Rebate Programme since 2013. Last year, the programme’s managers noted increased interest in the funding, with 76 applicants requesting grants for 12,729 m² altogether. The collector area of all SHIP systems combined was almost as high as that of the 241 installations supported between 2013 and 2017.

“We deliver solar heat at a much lower cost than diesel”
by Bärbel Epp

UAE-based Ocean Rubber Factory has been satisfied with its new 240 m² solar process heat system made by Swiss supplier TVP Solar. The installation not only produces heat at 180 °C, but it does so at a significantly lower cost than the diesel boilers operating at the same site. It provided 27 % of the average daily energy of the factory during "winter" month.

“The market requires simple plug-and-play solutions”
by Riccardo Battisti

Spanish-based supplier Endef is seeing increased demand for both its covered and uncovered PV-thermal systems. Last year was the first in which the business installed devices at non-commercial buildings in Spain and implemented projects abroad. Endef is a member of the IEA SHC Task about PVT collectors, systems and solutions.

Solar award nominations and extended call for papers
by Bärbel Epp

The organisers of the SHC, the International Conference on Solar Heating and Cooling for Buildings and Industry, which will be held in November in Chile, have extended the deadline for submissions. Experts can now submit abstracts of up to three pages by Friday, 22 March. The first full week this November will see a landmark event for solar energy take place in Chile’s capital Santiago, with three conferences running in parallel.

Solar Academy: Large-scale SHC Systems

The five speakers of this webinar will share the latest results from large-scale solar district heating systems around the world. You will hear about reaching up to 100 % solar fractions in Canada and about decentralised integration of solar fields in Germany and the latest market data from Denmark. The 1.5-hour event will be held from 2 to 3.30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursday, 21 March 2019. Click here to register online.

South Africa: Greatest SHIP potential in food and beverage
by Bärbel Epp

Food and beverage is the most important industry for solar process heat in South Africa. Not only does it have by far the most demand for steam among all industries (see the chart), but it also showed a rise in production output over the last 15 years. These are some of the findings of a study called Solar Heat for Industry.