Solar panels review 2009

The solar thermal heating market is forecast to reach huge growth in the coming years as policy pushes renewable space and water heating up the agenda.
solar thermal heating,European Solar Thermal Industry Federation, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Austria, German Market,
In 2008, solar thermal heating and cooling solutions gained favour in more and more countries,’ says European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) president Olivier Drücke. ‘The solar thermal market in the EU and Switzerland grew by over 60% to 3.3 GWth of new capacity, that is 4.76 million m2 of collector area,’ he adds.

Indeed, the latest ESTIF annual statistics on European solar thermal markets show that while demand for solar thermal technologies increased strongly in Spain, Italy and France, the biggest push came from the German market, which more than doubled from 0.7 GWth to 1.5 GWth of newly installed capacity in 2008.

Demand for solar thermal technology also increased strongly in smaller markets, such as Ireland, Poland and Portugal. Meanwhile, Austria continues to lead the continental states, with a total operational capacity of 273 kWth per 1000 inhabitants. Furthermore, with 29 kWth per 1000 inhabitants, Austria’s newly installed capacity is (in per capita terms) more than high-potential countries such as Spain, Italy or France have installed over the past 20 years. It trails only world champion Cyprus, which reached an installed solar thermal capacity of 623 kWth per 1000 inhabitants at the end of 2008.

In the face of such impressive growth figures solar thermal is also becoming a significant economic stimulator. The European turnover in solar thermal products surpassed the €3 billion mark in 2008 and the industry now employs more than 40,000 people full-time. ‘Solar thermal is well anchored in today’s European markets,’ says Drücke, adding: ‘With oil prices rising again, we believe that our sector will continue to grow steadily and be less affected by the current economic turmoil.’

Although led by Europe in terms of technology development, in terms of volume, global solar thermal is to a large extent driven by China which is the biggest solar thermal market worldwide. Three out of four collectors are produced and installed in the People’s Republic. Its national market grew by a constant rate of 28% in recent years. The newly installed capacity in 2008 was approximately 21 GWth — 16 times greater than the European market as a whole.

Another promising market outside Europe is the United States. Still small but with a high potential for growth, as the statistics of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) show in their document: ‘US Solar Industry Year in Review 2008.’ According to this trade group, the US solar thermal market grew by 50% in 2008, reaching some 229,000 m² of collector area, or around 160 MWth.

Economic downturn aside, the prospects for any industry which can report such impressive growth statistics remain positive. Enabling this growth is a global supply chain that is becoming increasingly robust and established as capacity investment ramps up to meet enpanding demand.

The big flat plate collector manufacturers in Europe are well prepared for the boom. These manufacturers have all increased their production capacities considerably over the last year [to July 2009].

Flat Plate Collectors

A significant player in the flat-plate solar thermal supply chain is metals group Luvata, which supplies copper and aluminum tubing as well as producing, for example, a specialized copper strip for solar thermal applications. Formerly known as Outokumpu Copper Products and acquired from Outokumpu OYJ in 2005 by Nordic Capital, Luvata employs over 6300 staff in 19 countries. The company has been busy over recent years building its position in the heating products market with a series of acquisitions.

As the shift towards a low-carbon energy sector steadily gathers momentum, it appears that a transformation of the energy market is inevitable. Growing concerns over security of energy supplies, price volatility in fossil-fuel markets, and the threat of climate change are accelerating this transformative process. It seems that, despite years of neglecting the solar thermal sector, policy-makers are finally getting the message that solar thermal has a great deal to offer in respect of all of these issues.

Indeed, as a highly efficient renewable energy source for heating and cooling — an area that corresponds to more than 45% of the global need for energy — among the renewable energy sources available, solar thermal energy has perhaps the greatest potential of all to transform the global energy market.

Certainly as a market, the solar thermal sector is displaying admirable growth, particularly so in the face of the on-going economic downturn, matched with a 60% market increase in Europe in 2008 for example. Recognizing this groundswell, many of the leading manufacturers are already ramping up production capacity and looking to expand into previously untapped regional markets in anticipation of further growth.

Those in the market for a solar thermal installation apparently benefit from a broad range of technologies, manufacturers and installers, indicating that the roots of a competitive market likely to engender further product innovation are already well established. With the giants of the industry standing at the ready, eager to deliver, perhaps it is at last time for the sleeping giant of renewables to wake up the world.

Some good ideas take a while to be copied. This is the case with solar building codes, which were invented in Israel 29 years ago. It was back in 1980 when the Israeli government implemented a law which made solar water heaters mandatory in new buildings up to 27 metres high such as residential housing, hotels, guest houses and care homes.

It turned out to be a success. Nowadays, more than 80% of the households in Israel obtain their domestic hot water from solar rooftop heaters.

This success is about to be copied by many more countries in the world — among them important solar thermal markets such as China, Germany, Spain, Australia and India. Within the last two to three years, this political instrument has reached all five continents. It will become — where correctly implemented — an important long-term driver of the global solar thermal market.

But there is a second factor that is pushing the international solar thermal markets in a sustainable direction. It is the urgency of saving electricity in many countries. Politicians have understood that solar thermal technology can play a crucial role in reducing national peak loads and avoiding electricity gaps on the national level. The Australian government is leading the way by prohibiting electric water heaters initially in new construction buildings, and most probably refurbished buildings will also follow. This opens the door for the greenhouse gas emission free production of hot water and space heating by the sun.

Source - Renewable Energy World