China

September 26, 2021
China’s future role in the IEA SHC Programme

The Chinese solar thermal market shows a varied picture of demand. While subsectors such as solar space heating are booming, total market volume continues to decline. Solarthermalworld.org spoke with two professors at the China Academy of Building Research, He Tao (see above) and...
September 8, 2021
IEA SHC workshop to create 'Smart Solar Water Heating for 2030' research platform

With 57 % of the total solar heating capacity in operation globally, thermosiphon systems top the list of the world’s most used solar thermal technologies. At the same time, photovoltaic systems are also emerging as a real player for getting heat from the sun. Both technologies are rapidly...
August 27, 2021
Growing interest in concentrating solar heat in central Europe

Concentrating collectors that provide heat or steam for large energy consumers are still far and few between. In 2020, 35 projects with a total aperture area of 16,300 m² (11 MW_th) were put up around the globe, with the most capacity added in China and Turkey, However...
August 26, 2021
SolarThermal+ project sets new standard for green tourism in China

One year after the ground-breaking ceremony in May 2020, construction on the all-weather eco-tourism resort Water World in Handan, Hebei, northern China, is in full swing. Photos posted to weixin.qq.com on 19 April reveal a huge construction site bustling with activity (see photo...
July 12, 2021
The opportunities and risks of stock market financing for young solar thermal companies

More and more solar thermal companies are financing their growth by issuing shares. The most recent example is Tigi from Israel with its IPO on 21st March 2021. Some Scandinavian project developers such as Absolicon, Savosolar and Clean Industry Solutions Holding Europe as well as the...
July 8, 2021
Global PVT market on track for more growth

PVT collectors – which use solar radiation to produce both heat and electricity – have been gaining in popularity in a rising number of markets around the world. In 2019, the Netherlands, France and Spain claimed the top spots for the most PVT capacity added in a year. In 2020, they were...
July 2, 2021
Solar Heat Worldwide 2021 – a rich source of global, national and sector-specific data

In 2020, Germany was the world’s leading solar district heating market, while China saw the largest increase in the number of industrial solar heat systems added in a single country, according to Solar Heat Worldwide 2021. This year’s edition, presented last week during a Solar Academy...
June 18, 2021
Multinationals strive to add more clean heat solutions

The latest SHIP Supplier World Map shows detailed information on 75 solar technology suppliers from 23 different countries. Together, they completed around 1,000 solar industrial heat plants until the end of 2020. The global hubs of the SHIP supply chain were Mexico and Germany, both with...
May 26, 2021
New SDH factsheet database goes online

The IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme has just launched a database containing a substantial number of fact sheets about solar district heating technologies, best practices and markets. The 29 documents were written by the most experienced SDH researchers and practitioners from China...
May 10, 2021
China keeps top spot for industrial solar heat

Most suppliers of industrial solar heat systems had to delay the closing of contracts and the installation of projects in 2020 because of the global outbreak of Covid-19. The pandemic became one of the main reasons for the sharp drop in the number of new solar process heat (SHIP) systems,...
April 28, 2021
How to design an 85 % solar-heated and 100 % solar air-conditioned house

During an online meeting from 1 to 2 July, the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling programme will launch a new global research platform called Task 66 Solar Energy Buildings. The researchers participating in the new task intend to develop and popularise a building standard focused on...
April 7, 2021
Mixed performance of world's largest flat plate producers in COVID year 2020

Last year’s outbreak of Covid-19 around the globe reduced sales of most of the largest flat plate collector manufacturers not based in China. Only a small number of non-Chinese businesses saw an increase in sales, the result of a new support policy in Germany. Chinese flat plate collector...