Policy

November 2, 2021
Pathway to 100 % renewables: “Industry is a really hard-to-abate sector”

“The world is burning more fossil fuels than ever. We need deep structural change,” REN21 Executive Director Rana Adib warned attendees at a panel discussion at last week’s Solar World Congress. “It is not enough anymore to look at the energy supply side – that is, the power sector – but we...
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...
August 28, 2021
SICA countries join IEA SHC with some flagship projects

In its current Solar Update Newsletter August 2021 the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme welcomes what is already the sixth Regional Sustainable Energy Centre to join as a sponsor. The most recent new member is SICREEE, which opened its doors at the beginning of 2021 and represents...
April 20, 2021
Opposing trends in India’s solar thermal market 2020

In 2020, hopes for growth in India’s solar thermal market were dashed when Covid-19 spread like wildfire around the globe, causing a 10 % drop in annual capacity additions. A survey conducted by Malaviya Solar Energy Consultancy indicates 1.15 GW_th (1.64 million m²) of...
March 31, 2021
“7 MW solar heat plants will be a commodity in Europe in 5 to 10 years”

Viessmann, a major German provider of climate solutions for living spaces, strengthened its project development team last year, hiring Christian Stadler and four of his ex-colleagues in June 2020, after their former employer, Danish-based Arcon-Sunmark, stopped operation. As part of...
February 19, 2021
SRIAs pave the way for a clean energy future

According to the European Technology and Innovation Platform on Renewable Heating & Cooling’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, nearly half the energy consumed across Europe is used to heat residential, commercial and industrial buildings. On 15 October 2020, the then-...
December 29, 2020
Five pathways for decarbonising heating and cooling

“If we intend to take the Paris Agreement seriously, we will have to accelerate the deployment of renewable technologies in heating and cooling.” This statement by REN21 Executive Director Rana Adib during a webinar in late November explains why the organisation has just published another...
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 27, 2020
“Balance your solar mandate between what the market is ready for and what you want to achieve”

Barcelona pioneered renewables obligations for solar energy in Europe. In August 2000, the city in the Spanish Catalonia region adopted solar building regulations that required a predefined share of solar-heated water for newly constructed buildings and those to be fully renovated or...
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 7, 2020
The best way to renovate Europe’s building stock

One area that requires immediate action, according to the European Commission’s Green Deal, is the renovation of the continent’s building stock. After all, the EU’s aim is to become climate neutral by 2050. Consequently, the commission has started public consultation on a new Renovation...
July 24, 2020
Region with high solar ambitions joins IEA SHC

One of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme’s new sponsors is SACREEE, the Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, set up by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), an intergovernmental organisation. SADC represents a dynamically developing solar thermal region...