Solar thermal will make a substantial contribution to EU renewables targets
Brussels/Freiburg, 19 June - As the fastest growing sector in renewable heating and cooling, solar thermal can deliver a substantial contribution to reaching the EU targets for renewables, if the right policies are quickly introduced at EU level and in the Member States.
The unanimous decision of the Heads of State of the 27 EU countries to set a binding target of 20% renewables share by 2020 is particularly important for the solar thermal sector: for the first time, renewable heating and cooling (RES-H) is fully integrated into the EU’s energy policy strategy, which was not the case in the past.
Mr Gerhard Rabensteiner, President of ESTIF, said: “The solar thermal industry’s target for 2020 is to have an average of 1m2 of solar thermal collectors in operation per every European, equal to a capacity in operation of 320 GWth, producing the energy equivalent of the heating consumption of 10 million European households.
Some communes are already very close to reaching this target. Cyprus and Austria are on track to reach it by 2020. But many EU countries are still in the starting blocks. This prevents the sector from benefitting from economies of scale that will make solar thermal fully competitive, once a critical mass of the market is reached EU-wide.
Raffaele Piria, ESTIF Policy Director, said: “To achieve this, stronger and more continuous support policies must be implemented as soon as possible. As solar thermal is not yet covered by EU legislation, it is essential that the new EU Renewables Directive is adopted soon, including strong measures for renewable heating and cooling.”
The Directive should make sure that specific targets and measures for renewable heating and cooling are a part of the national renewables action plans. For new buildings, and those undergoing major renovations, an obligation to cover a minimum share of heat consumption by renewables should be introduced, as already implemented in some countries and municipalities. The Directive should make sure that administrative barriers are reduced and that Member States avoid stop-and-go in other support schemes such as financial incentives, training programs and demonstration projects. Finally, the Directive should also ensure that national support policies do not create involuntary barriers to trade: all product requirements should be based strictly on European standards and certification procedures.
As the time until 2020 is short, we cannot afford to lose precious years simply by waiting for the EU legislative process to be concluded. Thus, national and local governments should take immediate action and start implementing strong policies, as mentioned above and discussed in detail in ESTIF’s Solar Thermal Action Plan for Europe.
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Press contact
Silvia Döffinger
German Solar Industry Association
Tel.: +49-30-29 777 88-11
Fax: +49-30-29 777 88-99
Email: doeffinger@estec2007.org
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Brussels/Freiburg, 19 June 2007
2.100 MWth of new capacity: another record year for solar thermal in Europe
Today, the European So-lar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) has published their latest market statistics for the 27 EU Member States and Switzerland at their bi-annual estec conference. The market development in 2006 exceeded expectations and solar thermal heating and cooling has clearly grown out of being a niche market (more...)
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Brussels/Freiburg, 19 June 2007
Solar thermal will make a substantial contribution to EU renewables targets
As the fastest growing sector in renewable heating and cooling, solar thermal can deliver a substantial contribution to reaching the EU targets for renewables, if the right policies are quickly introduced at EU level and in the Member States. (more...)
Download this press release (.pdf, 35 kB)
Brussels/Freiburg, 19 June 2007
European Solar Thermal Energy conference opens with signs of growth
estec2007, the largest international solar thermal conference ever held opens today in Freiburg. With 550 participants from over 50 countries, estec has almost doubled its size, confirming its status as the premier solar thermal event worldwide (more...)
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Brussels/Berlin, 3 May 2007
High Growth Potential for Solar Thermal Energy
The European Solar Thermal Energy Conference estec2007 will be the most important event of 2007 for the solar thermal sector worldwide. The new directive for heating and cooling with renewable energy of the European Union, which is under development, and the strong market growth reaching 80% in France and 60% in Spain, Germany and UK show the fast growing interest in solar thermal energy (more...)
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Brussels/Berlin, 29 March 2007
High Growth Potential for Solar Thermal Energy
the solar thermal market is booming. According to surveys conducted by the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF), the European market grew by 35% to more than 2.7 million mē collector area in 2006, with the new solar thermal capacity exceeding 1.900 MWth (preliminary figures). (more...)
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Brussels/Berlin, December 19, 2006
Solar Thermal in Europe grows significantly
The use of solar thermal has increased significantly in 2006, the same applies for sales of solar thermal systems in Europe which grew by 35 % up to 1.900 megawatts of solar thermal power. (more...)
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Berlin, 08 November 2006
Preparations for estec2007 are Under Way - Call for Abstracts for the European Solar Thermal Energy Conference Opens
As of the beginning of November, interested experts are invited to submit abstract proposals under www.estec2007.org for one of the nine topic categories. (more...)
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Brussels, 22 June 2006
estec2007 to be held in Freiburg (Germany), on 19-20 June 2007
estec2007, the 3rd European Solar thermal Energy Conference will be held in Freiburg (Germany) on 19-20 June 2007, just before the opening of Intersolar 2007. ( more...)
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