KBB Kollektorbau

September 22, 2019
Berlin-based technology pioneer shuts down collector production

German OEM manufacturer KBB Kollektorbau has announced plans to shut down its collector and absorber production in Berlin after 25 years. Stephan Fintelmann, Managing Director of KBB, said he will put the company’s modern 11,000 m² office and production building, situated in the city’s...
May 3, 2018
Record participation at SDH 2018 in Graz

The 5^th International Solar District Heating Conference, which took place in Graz, Austria, in mid-April, brought together 350 experts from 33 countries. It had twice as many attendees as the previous one in Billund, Denmark, in 2016 and attracted representatives from several...
December 28, 2017
Renewable heat projects along Danube River

DanubeHeat helps small and medium enterprises, research and educational institutions, and public agencies draft EU funding applications. Financially supported by the German education ministry and coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE based in Freiburg, Germany...
December 21, 2017
Project partners guarantee SDH yield

15 December saw the inauguration of the first installation supported by the subsidy scheme for large-scale solar thermal projects in France. The 2,340 m² collector field by German manufacturer KBB Kollektorbau has since been feeding into a biomass district heating network of Châteaubriant,...
November 26, 2017
IEA SHC Task 54: Solar Thermal Cost Reductions

The objective of IEA SHC Task 54 is to reduce the purchase price of solar thermal systems by up to 40 % across the entire value chain. To achieve this, the project partners have been evaluating technical and non-technical cost-saving potential, with low-cost materials, such as polymers, and...
April 3, 2017
Europe: Comparing Solar Keymark Data on Collectors with Foil or Double Glass Cover to Ones Without

Denmark’s success story in solar district heating, with 2016 having been another record year which almost doubled newly installed collector area to around 500,000 m², showcases the large potential of this type of application across Europe. Cost cuts in the supply chain are key: Two vital...
March 2, 2017
Austria: New Medium-Temperature Collectors Show Remarkable Yield in District Heating Use

During the last seven years, a group of scientists has monitored selected large solar thermal installations in Austria on behalf of the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund. The gathered data confirms that these plants have been reliable and produce satisfactory yields. Particularly the new...
September 8, 2016
IEA SHC: Cost Reduction Analysis Workshops at German University of Stuttgart

System cost reduction is one of the most urgent challenges of the solar thermal sector, especially in central Europe. The aim of Task 54 of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme, Price Reduction of Solar Thermal Systems, is to lower solar heat prices by up to 40 %. Germany’s...
March 31, 2016
Europe: Solar Keymark Network to Improve Complaint Procedures

The Solar Keymark Network has decided to establish a working group in order to revise and improve the complaint procedures and put them into one document, as they have so far been described in several different papers and various articles: The Solar Keymark Scheme Rules, Article 2.2,...
February 3, 2015
IRENA: “They speak about energy, but they mean electricity”

It was a busy Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) this January: It started with the fourth assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which brought together 1,200 high-profile attendants on 17 and 18 January 2015, and went on with the four-day World Future Energy...
December 15, 2014
Tunisia: Ups and Downs of Prosol Subsidy Scheme

Tunisia’s incentive and low-interest loan scheme Prosol can already celebrate its tenth anniversary next year. Since 2005, the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas, STEG, has been managing the programme, which enables end consumers to repay a loan for a solar water heater over...
October 19, 2009
Slowdown of the Solar Thermal Market in Germany

The growth of the German solar thermal market is coming to halt – or even worse: The market statistics of the solar industry association BSW-Solar and the heating industry association BDH (BDH/BSI statistics) show a strong decrease during the summer months.
Photo: Bärbel Epp...