Solar Thermal Holds Steady in Europe

By Tildy Bayar, Associate Editor, Renewable Energy World
October 15, 2012   

 

LONDON -- Should the European solar thermal industry be cautiously optimistic that a year without decline points to a market turnaround? Introducing the trade body's new market report, European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) president Robin Welling commented that "overall, there was little development" across the sector in 2011. The European solar thermal market showed neither real decline nor growth when compared to 2010, Welling continued, but he noted that previously the market had decreased for two consecutive years.

The solar thermal sector in Europe has grown an average of 3.9 percent over the past five years, and 9 percent over the past 10 years. Solar thermal heating is viewed as the number one renewable heating source by Europeans, according to the results of a public consultation by the European Commission, and 44 percent of Europeans surveyed in a 2011 poll believe that the role of solar thermal in Europe's energy mix will grow in future.

However, a new ESTIF report on solar thermal markets in Europe termed 2011 “a year of mixed messages” largely due to the diversity of market evolution across different countries.