News | Solarthermalworld

October 11, 2021
Low-temperature heat networks key to positive energy districts

In Europe, positive energy districts are still in their early stages. But initial pilot projects have shown that low-temperature district heating grids play a central role in the design of these smart districts. So far, however, there has been little policy support for PEDs, noted the...
October 7, 2021
"Renewable heat generation should be privileged in the Building Regulations §35"

There is a lack of land available in Germany for solar district heating systems due to the complexity of the land-use plan procedure. Some local mayors who are active for climate protection have already given up on the idea of solar heating in their communities because the search for...
October 4, 2021
“We have an increasing number of new large projects in the pipeline”

The Finnish turnkey solar heat system provider Savosolar held an extraordinary general shareholder meeting on 1 October to discuss rights issues of approximately EUR 5.4 to 6.4 million with three warrant programmes. The assembly authorised Savosolar’s Board of Directors to decide on...
October 1, 2021
“Energy taxes and emission trading systems complement each other”

Internalizing the costs of pollution into energy prices – this has been one of the key objectives of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe for many years. In this context, two documents from the new...
September 28, 2021
10 MW solar plant heats air for malting plant in France

A 10 MW flagship solar heat project was inaugurated on 20 September 2021 in Issoudun, Southern France, making it the largest solar industrial heat plant in France and the second largest in Europe. The 14,252 m² solar collector fields now supply 10 % of the total heat requirement...
September 26, 2021
China’s future role in the IEA SHC Programme

The Chinese solar thermal market shows a varied picture of demand. While subsectors such as solar space heating are booming, total market volume continues to decline. Solarthermalworld.org spoke with two professors at the China Academy of Building Research, He Tao (see above) and...
September 16, 2021
Innovation Fund approves EUR 4.5 million for Croatian SHIP plant

In July, French NewHeat was revealed to be among the 32 organisations whose applications were approved by the new EU Innovation Fund for small-scale projects. The EUR 4.5 million the company will receive from the fund will cover more than half of the total investment in a 20 MW_th...
September 15, 2021
IEA SHC Solar Cooling Task: “We can make a difference”

US project developer ergSol is a true pioneer. The company is not only putting up large commercial solar heat systems in California but also supports the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling programme by heading the Demonstration subtask of global research network...
September 10, 2021
Skopje’s Green City Action Plan favours district heating

Many times during winter, Skopje in North Macedonia holds the unfortunate record of being the capital with the worst air quality in Europe. One reason for this is that some of the city’s public buildings – even hospitals and schools – burn heavy fuel oil to provide hot water and space...
September 8, 2021
IEA SHC workshop to create 'Smart Solar Water Heating for 2030' research platform

With 57 % of the total solar heating capacity in operation globally, thermosiphon systems top the list of the world’s most used solar thermal technologies. At the same time, photovoltaic systems are also emerging as a real player for getting heat from the sun. Both technologies are rapidly...
September 1, 2021
“German SDH market could be bigger, if there was enough space”

Under the leadership of Christoph Bühler, Ritter XL, a division of Germany’s Ritter Energie company, has risen to become the market leader for solar district heating (SDH) in Germany. His team successfully bid for seven of the last 10 SDH plants exceeding 1,000 m² to be put out...
August 31, 2021
Fit for 55 package – numbers debate about to begin

On 14 July, the European Commission fulfilled its promise and published the Fit for 55 package, which includes revisions to five of the EU’s core climate and energy directives and two new initiatives, ReFuelEU Aviation and FuelEU Maritime (see chart). The aim of the package is to bring the...