Based in Brussels, the International Copper Association (ICA) Europe is the leading advocate for the copper industry in Europe. As ICA’s European branch, the organisation represents companies that mine, smelt and recycle copper for use across the economy, in the electricity system, buildings, transport and industry. Through a team of policy, industry and scientific experts, ICA Europe promotes copper as an essential material for achieving the EU’s ambition of a resilient, climate-neutral Europe and seeks to ensure that EU policies enable the sustainable production of copper to serve Europe’s future needs.
Solarthermalworld.org was initiated by ICA Europe in 2008 with the aim of providing stakeholders from research, public and private sector all around the globe with first-class information about solar heating and cooling to stimulate market growth. The ICA Europe has supported the hosting of the website until 2021 as well as the content gathering continuously since 2008.
Please see below our most recent articles:
“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 Viessmann, Stadler and his team are now responding to district …
SDH plant performs well in Swiss winter conditions
A new solar district heating plant in Geneva, Switzerland, is basking in the limelight of Swiss politics, with environmental minister Simonetta Sommaruga personally attending the start-up of the system at the end of February. The 816 m2 solar field consists of special high-vacuum flat panels supplying heat to Geneva’s district …
Rush on industrial solar heat in Germany
In Germany, demand for high-temperature solar process heat is growing rapidly. In the past months, Soliterm, a western German provider of turnkey solar process heat (SHIP) solutions, has conducted an ever-greater number of prefeasibility studies in several sectors, especially in the food industry. Interest grew as the government introduced a …
“RHC becomes far cheaper than fossil energy in every way”
Which research and innovation priorities need to be set for buildings, industry, cities and districts to boost the renewable heating and cooling market? The new Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for Climate-Neutral Heating and Cooling (SRIA) aims to answer this question by outlining a path to a fossil fuel-free heating …
“Reducing the level of harmful air pollutants is vital”
Be it the Western Balkans, Mongolia or Kazakhstan, Greg Gebrail is there to offer technical and policy support for solar district heating. As Principal District Energy Specialist at the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), he is a member of the Sustainable Infrastructure Group, which delivers about 100 …
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-chairman of RHC-ETIP, Javier Urchueguía, presented the SRIA at the virtual …
25-year heat supply contract for 4 MW SDH plant
Supported by a community financing model, southern Austrian solar heat specialists Unser Kraftwerk and Greenonetec have joined forces to build a 4 MW solar district heating plant in nearby Friesach by summer. While Greenonetec is producing the 5,750 m2 of large flat plate collectors required for the system, Unser Kraftwerk …
Industrial solar heat: status quo and costs
IRENA and Solar Heat Europe have both announced webinars that will highlight measures for decarbonising Europe’s industrial sector. On Thursday, 25 February, the IRENA Coalition for Action will present the white paper titled Companies in Transition towards 100 % renewables: Focus on heating and cooling during a 2.5-hour online conference …
Demand for clean space heating rebounds in Germany
The German solar heat market is back on a growth path. In a joint press release published on 4 February, the BSW Solar and BDH associations said the newly installed collector area increased by 26 % in 2020, amounting to 643,000 m2 (450 MWth) or about 83,000 new solar thermal …
Disappointing solar thermal support policy in Romania
Romania’s government intends to spend RON 750 million (about EUR 150 million) on clean district heat over the next two years. But solar thermal is not eligible for the EU-funded programme, according to government spokesperson Catalina Decolare. Only centralised heating solutions sourcing biomass, biogas or geothermal are being considered. On …
Up to 500,000 home renovations in France by 2021
The #SolariseHeat initiative has helped Europe’s solar thermal associations push for better funding conditions, Edwige Porcheyre, Project Coordinator at French Enerplan, said at the Pushing #SolariseHeat Forward online workshop hosted by Solar Heat Europe in mid-November 2020. Enerplan’s efforts, plus the pledge that Solar Heat Europe drew up in July, …
Quick Check BIOSOL: New tool helps utilities make the right choices
As early as November 2020, national association Austria Solar put a new decision-making tool called Quick Check BIOSOL on its website. At a German-language webinar following the upload, Austria Solar’s Managing Director Roger Hackstock then explained what the tool does and how it works. In essence, the program helps plant …
