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Content archived on 2022-12-27

Key Issues in Solar Thermal

Objective

The cluster has three distinct vertical tasks, which correspond to the individual projects and are under the responsibility of the consortia involved. These tasks are:

1. Solar Combisystems:
It is the aim of the project to increase the use of optimised solar combisystems within the European countries, and to establish and/or consolidate a further market development based on improved and optimised solar combisystems

2. A Solar Thermal Strategy for Europe - Sun in Action II:
In 1995 the European Solar Industry Federation produced a strategic plan for the Solar Thermal Market in Europe financed by the Altener programme. The study was published by the European Commission under the title: "Sun in Action" in February 1996. The study was based on information gathered during the year 1994. Since then, important developments have taken place in the solar thermal sector. The important changes of the last five years make necessary the updating of the study. It is the objective of this project to update this study and to complement it with additional elements, which today seem necessary.

3. Solar Keymark:
The aim of the project is to open the European market for producers and dealers of solar thermal products by implementing the new EN standards and establishing a certification mark (KEYMARK) for solar thermal products. This "SOLAR KEYMARK" shall ensure compliance with the upcoming European standards for solar thermal products: EN12975, EN12976 and ENV 12977. To the consumers the Keymark act as a common EU quality certificate for solar thermal systems and components. The Keymark shall replace all the different national/regional "certifications" existing now.

The potential for combisystems, strategic issues, etc. will build on findings from the Combisystems project and will be incorporated in the Sun in Action. The influence on market and potential as policy and strategy of the development of the Keymark will be evaluated and incorporated in the Sun in Action. The Solar Keymark could follow the development of combisystems testing methods by the Combisystems project.
As a direct result of the work of the ALTENER Solar Keymark project team, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has approved in January 2003 the rules for the "Solar Keymark", a special Keymark for solar thermal collectors and systems. The solar thermal sector is now at the forefront of European integration, for what concerns the existence of European quality labels. If the Solar Keymark will be successfully promoted in the market, its existence has the potential to overcome substantial barriers to trade and to growth of solar thermal, by reducing the costs of trans-national trade within Europe and contributing to the creation of a true European market for solar thermal products. It is therefore very desirable that the resources necessary to promote this new quality label in the market will be available.

Sun in Action II project:
Seven years after the publication of the first Sun in Action report (also supported by the European Commission), many players in and around the solar thermal community (industry, investors, financers, policy makers, researchers) were heavily missing a substantial overview of the European solar thernal market. Both the quantitative data and the in-depth qualitative analysis contained in the two volumes of Sun in Action II, are expected to significantly contribute to the development of the market, by providing sound basic information. The Action Plan contained in Volume 1 is a useful tool for industry, energy agencies, policy makers at different levels (EU, national, regional) and all those interested in promoting the solar thermal market.

Solar Combisystems project:
Combisystems allow to use solar energy for both domestic hot water and space heating. In this way, the solar energy output can be significantly increased, resulting in substantially higher reductions of consumption of conventional heating fuels. As identified in the Sun in Action report, a major barrier to growth for solar thermal is that combisystems are not yet fully standardised and more experience must be developed. The results of the Solar Combisystems project will represent a significant help for the wider diffusion of solar combisystems throughout Europe.

Synergies among the projects:
Significant synergies among the clustered projects could be achieved. The coordinators of the Solar Keymark and of the Sun in Action project have been in constant contact and consultation. As a result, the promotion of the Solar Keymark is fully integrated into the Sun in Action report, which will function also as a dissemination tool of the results of the Solar Keymark project. In the other direction, the preliminary results of the research done for Sun in Action have been constantly communicated to the Solar Keymark team, contributing to orientate its participants and to motivate them to continue their work within a long term perspective of further development of the European dimension of the solar thermal market.
The coordinator of the Solar Combisystems team has been regularly in contact with the coordinators of Sun in Action and Solar Keymark. The knowledge developed within the Combisystem project has flown in the (additional) pre-normative work done by the Solar Keymark team and in the qualitative market analysis, as well as in the growth scenarios and action plan presented in Sun in Action II.
Common dissemination of the results has been implemented within the project. The large mailing to distribute the Sun in Action report contains also information about the Solar Keymark. Beyond the time limit of this cluster contract, the results of all three projects will be commonly discussed in the European Solar Thermal Energy conference organised by ESTIF in June 2003 in Freiburg (and supported by the NNE5/2001/195 contract of the European Commission).

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

European Solar Industry Federation
EU contribution
No data
Address
26, Rue de Trône
1000 Brussels
Belgium

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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.
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Participants (27)

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Last update: 26 June 2003

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