

China: Vicot Solar Systems Provide Heat at Siemens and Procter & Gamble Facilities

Photo: Vicot
According to Vicot, the solar heat is used for space heating during the heating season and as process heat throughout the rest of the year. Including installation, total system cost amounted to Renminbi (RMB) 9.36 million (EUR 1.2 million in mid-2014) and specific costs to 2,876 RMB/m² (369 EUR/m²).
The plant provides comfort for its owners: When the scheduled heating season comes to an end, the main supply company reduces the heat capacity, whether or not it is still cold outside. Whereas employees in other offices and factories will then have to deal with the cold, THVP can keep the temperature indoors at 20 °C – a plus of 3 to 4 °C. The rest of the heat is supplied by off-peak electricity. After THVS became a Siemens subsidiary in 2005, it started adopting climate protection policies, such as for solar energy use.

Photo: Vicot
The World Map of Solar Process Heat Specialists 2017 shows Vicot to have installed, all in all, 20 turnkey systems for solar process heat, with the first demonstration plant set up in 2011. The business offers turnkey services, including planning and installation, operation and maintenance, guaranteed solar yields, and can operate as an Energy Service Company (ESCO) delivering heat to customers. Additionally, it has its own factory to produce parabolic trough collectors, including receiver tubes.
Websites of companies mentioned in this article:
Procter & Gamble: http://us.pg.com/
Trench High Voltage Products: http://www.trenchgroup.com/en
Vicot Solar Technology: http://www.vicot.com.cn