market opportunities

December 3, 2020
IRENA identifies solar heat potential in central and south eastern Europe

The 18 countries participating in the Central and South Eastern Europe Energy Connectivity Initiative (CESEC) could use renewables to meet 34 % of their energy demand by 2030, with solar thermal installed in buildings being the cheapest replacement option for fossil fuel equipment. These...
November 21, 2020
Technical and market assessment of solar cooling in the Caribbean

IEA SHC Solar Academy’s first online training sessions on solar heating and cooling in the Caribbean have been well received by those attending the event. About 30 consultants, agencies for energy efficiency and renewables, researchers, manufacturers, grid operator and CCREEE staff...
November 14, 2020
“Solar thermal cooling reduces the strain on the power grid”

Global IEA Solar Heating and Cooling research platform Task 65, called Solar Cooling for the Sunbelt Regions, aims to provide countries in Africa, Asia and the MENA region with specifications and know-how of solar thermal and PV air conditioning. To achieve this, researchers and...
November 4, 2020
High expectations in Brazil despite Covid-19 worries

The solar thermal market in Brazil grew by about 6 % in 2019, adding 1.32 million m² (0.93 GW_th) despite a turbulent economy. The surge came in part due to new commercial customers that require large quantities of hot water and followed four years of steadily declining...
September 14, 2020
NewHeat secures EUR 13 million loan to finance 5 solar heat plants

French project developer NewHeat has successfully closed a EUR 13 million finance deal with Triodos Bank, Germany, and Crédit Coopératif, France, to cover the costs of putting up five solar heat plants with a total capacity of 28 MW_th. The project pool comprises the industrial...
August 31, 2020
German solar thermal business index hits 10-year high

The German government’s decision to extend funding opportunities for clean heating projects this January has led to rising demand for solar thermal systems. During the first seven months of 2020, businesses sold 14 % more flat plate and vacuum tube collectors than in the same period last...
August 24, 2020
Solar heat to be part of IRENA Cost Report 2021

The latest edition of the Renewable Power Generation Costs Report from the International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA always creates a great deal of interest, worldwide. More than 2,000 stakeholders registered for the webinar on 9 June in which Michael Taylor from IRENA explained the key...
August 22, 2020
50 new solar hot water systems at Turkish prisons in three years

Turkey’s regulations on installing solar energy equipment in buildings with over 1,000 m2 of floor area has resulted in a growing number of centralised solar hot water systems in prisons over the last years. The above photo shows one of those installations, a 3,363 m² solar hot...
August 13, 2020
Grants for 600,000 renewable heating systems in England

In early August, the UK government announced a GBP 2 billion (USD 2.61 billion) Green Homes Grant scheme that will fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements, including solar thermal systems, heat pumps and insulation, for over 600,000 residential buildings. From the end of...
July 10, 2020
Export champions from Greece offer good value for money

The Greek solar thermal industry is an export champion: The total collector area sold to customers abroad tripled from 200,000 m² to 600,000 m² in only 10 years (see chart). Greek manufacturers took advantage of opportunities around the world while demand for their...
July 1, 2020
Fact sheets show 30 operational PV-thermal systems

PV-thermal installations are extremely versatile systems, and their manufacturers can cater to a wide variety of customers, single- and multi-family building owners, hotels, swimming pools and even production facilities among them. To illustrate how far PVT technology has come in recent...
May 18, 2020
Sunny prospects for Cyprus

Homeowners and businesses in Cyprus showed growing interest in solar thermal technology over the last two years. Collector area additions on the island increased by 5 % in 2018 and by 24 % in 2019 after a small decline in 2017. The growth in collector capacity was the result of an overall...