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2014: Internationalisation in Europe and China
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Dear Solarthermalworld.org Reader,
The
first newsletter in 2014 presents challenging markets outside Europe. A
workshop in Germany in November 2013 discussed the 100,000 green hotel
rooms programme in Egypt. Increasing fossil fuel prices and a Green Star
Hotel Initiative have motivated hoteliers to install solar water
heating systems. Kazakhstan is on its way to becoming a green economy
and received a USD 40 million loan from the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in December 2013 in order to
install solar water heaters and other energy-efficient technologies in
more than 100 stations and depots. The newly founded industry
association German CSP established a work group for solar process heat,
which took part in a workshop in Saudi Arabia in November 2013.
But
it is not only the European industry which sees internationalisation as
one way to overcome the currently low demand at home. Chinese
manufacturers have been in a similar situation since the domestic market
slowed down significantly to a 3.3 % annual growth rate in 2013,
according to the preliminary market statistics presented at the annual
meeting of the Chinese Solar Thermal Industry Federation (CSTIF). The
result is increasing export activity, implemented at high speed and with
great financial commitments – no doubt making for challenging
competition worldwide.
Best wishes for a sunny and successful new year
The editorial team
Read more:
100,000 green hotel rooms programm
Kazakhstan
German CSP
Annual meeting of CSTIF
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Kazakhstan Railways Goes on a Sunny Journey
by Frank Stier
Not much is known in the world about the country of Kazakhstan other
than that it was once part of the empire of Genghis Khan and is one of
the nations with the most fossil fuel reserves in the world today. Maybe
that´s why it is also the country with the highest greenhouse gas
emissions in Central Asia. To help lower these emissions, the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) granted the national
railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) a USD 40 million loan in
mid-December 2013 to support the company’s “drive to radically improve
energy efficiency across its operations”. With the loan, KTZ intends to
install energy-reducing technologies, such as LED lighting, solar water
heaters and heat pumps, in more than 100 stations and depots.
Read more»
India: Ministry Presents Awards to Eight Solar Thermal Manufacturers
by Jaideep Malaviya
The Indian Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq
Abdullah, presented in New Delhi awards to the most successful Channel
Partners of the national solar thermal subsidy scheme. In front of
around 250 participants from policy, industry and media, Dr Abdullah
announced the ten winners of National Solar Thermal Awards in the solar
water heater category and, for the first time, in the category of
concentrating solar thermal collectors. The awards recognised
manufacturers achieving the highest total sales, the highest growth
rates, the best dealer network and the highest export rates.
Read more»
Spain: “Most of these companies will survive thanks to internationalisation”
by Alejandro Diego Rosell
Despite the seemingly never-ending recession in Spain, the solar thermal
sector doesn’t throw in the towel. The sector is mainly dependent on
the Technical Building Code, CTE, which mandates the installation of
solar hot water systems in new structures and buildings undergoing major
renovation. The burst of the housing bubble collapsed the construction
market. Only 44,000 new houses were built in 2012 compared to 800,000 in
2006. Still, the economy shows the first signs of recovery, and the
Spanish Solar Thermal Industry Association, ASIT, has been eager to find
alternative markets and incentives that could improve the current
situation.
Read more»
Germany: Solar House Trend towards Multi-Family Buildings
by Stephanie Banse
2013 will have been the first year in which the Sonnenhaus-Institut
(Solar House Institute) has felt the effects of the general downward
trend in the solar thermal market. According to a press release, the
knowledge platform’s 14% increase in buildings in 2013 (176 new houses)
marks a notable drop from the previous years. The 250 solar houses built
in 2012 still represented a growth rate of 20%. This is why the
participants of the general assembly at the end of November rather
looked to the future than to the past: There are already plans to set up
around 300 mainly solar-heated houses in 2014.
Read more»
China: 2013 Market Statistics and Trends
by Bärbel Epp
In
cooperation with the China Association of Rural Energy Industry
(CAREI), the China Solar Thermal Industry Federation (CSTIF) held its
annual meeting in Zhuhai, a city in Guangdong Province, on 6 and 7
December. One of the key speakers was Zhentao Luo, former Chairman of
CSTIF, who presented the 2013 market statistics. According to the
preliminary CSTIF data, the newly installed collector area was 66
million m² (46.2 GWth), which means an increase of only 3.3%.
The share of replaced collector area was 47 %, so that the total
installed collector area increased to 310 million m² (217 GWth).
Read more»
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