18

42015

18

42009

Total installed capacity in operation:

33.3 GWth

Total installed capacity in 2015:

1.9 GWth

Annual energy generation (estimated):

23.5 TWhth

Numbers of jobs (estimated):

23 700

18

42009

(Estimated) sector turnover

1.9 EUR billion 18

42009Estimated

6.3 Mt CO2 emission savings

18

42009

18

42009

SOLAR THERMAL MARKETS IN EUROPETrends and Market Statistics 2015Published November 2016

Summary

Market (=Newly Installed) In Operation2

2013 2014 2015 Annual Evolution

of the Market

2015 Annual Evolution

of the Total Installed Capacity

Total Glazed

Total Glazed

Flat Plate

Vacuum Collectors

Total Glazed

Total Glazed

Total Glazed

Total Glazed

Total Glazed

m2 m2 m2 m2 m2 kW(th)1 % m2 kW(th) %

Austria 179 180 153 440 134 260 2 320 136 580 95 606 -11% 4 201 321 2 940 925 -0.6%

Belgium 59 000 52 000 38 250 6 750 45 000 31 500 -13.5% 538 033 376 623 8.9%

Bulgaria 5 600 5 600 5 100 500 5 600 3 920 - 133 900 93 730 -

Croatia 20 900 21 527 19 000 2 500 21 500 15 050 -0.1% 188 592 132 014 12.9%

Cyprus 20 991 19 467 18 000 600 18 600 13 020 -4.5% 676 834 473 784 -1.7%

Czech Republic 44 531 38 243 22 000 9 000 31 000 21 700 -18.9% 534 617 374 232 5.4%

Denmark 117 170 179 186 264 565 0 264 565 185 196 47.6% 1 175 916 823 141 25.5%

Estonia* 2 000 2 000 1 000 1 000 2 000 1 400 - 12 520 8 764 -

Finland* 4 000 4 000 3 000 1 000 4 000 2 800 - 47 523 33 266 -

France3 190 300 150 500 101 450 0 101 450 71 015 -32.6% 2 516 650 1 761 655 4.2%

Germany 1 020 000 900 000 729 000 77 000 806 000 564 200 -10.4% 18 300 000 12 810 000 3.5%

Greece 227 500 270 600 271 000 600 271 600 190 120 0.4% 4 388 900 3 072 230 2.4%

Hungary 18 000 16 000 10 080 5 570 15 650 10 955 -2.2% 269 464 188 625 6.2%

Ireland 27 269 24 524 12 720 9 953 22 673 15 871 -7.5% 344 855 241 398 7%

Italy 358 000 268 500 201 810 27 520 229 330 160 531 -14.6% 4 174 124 2 921 887 5.3%

Latvia* 2 222 2 360 1 580 330 1 910 1 337 -19.1% 10 532 7 372 22.2%

Lithuania* 2 200 2 200 800 1 400 2 200 1 540 - 12 600 8 820 -

Luxemburg* 6 000 5 486 4 700 750 5 450 3 815 - 55 736 39 015 -

Malta* 1 089 1 520 759 172 931 652 -38.8% 53 770 37 639 1.5%

Netherlands 38 775 31 411 17 548 3 971 21 519 15 063 -31.5% 569 506 398 654 1.6%

Poland 274 100 260 100 225 000 52 000 277 000 193 900 6.5% 2 022 590 1 415 813 15.9%

Portugal 57 234 50 967 45 304 830 46 134 32 294 -9.5% 979 952 685 966 3.9%

Romania 23 850 18 500 6 800 11 000 17 800 12 460 -3.8% 158 350 110 845 10.7%

Slovakia 6 200 5 500 4 500 800 5 300 3 710 -3.6% 154 250 107 975 1.2%

Slovenia 10 000 4 500 2 200 600 2 800 1 960 -37.8% 159 100 111 370 -9.8%

Spain 228 721 251 249 226 138 11 121 237 259 166 081 -5.6% 3 279 894 2 295 926 7.5%

Sweden 8 611 6 673 4 928 1 643 6 571 4 600 -1.5% 335 565 234 896 -0.8%

Switzerland 121 974 113 147 65 000 15 000 80 000 56 000 -29.3% 1 401 492 981 044 4.3%

United Kingdom 43 133 36 552 20 322 3 967 24 289 17 002 -33.5% 792 251 554 576 2.2%

EU28 + Switzerland 3 118 550 2 895 752 - - 2 704 711 1 893 298 -6.6% 47 488 836 33 242 185 4.4%

ESTIF would like to thank the solar thermal associations and other national sources for providing the data for these statistics, in particular:

AEE INTEC; Association pour Techniques Thermiques de Belgique (ATTB/Belsolar); Energy Institute Hrvoje Pozar; Cyprus Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry

and Tourism; Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade; Danish Solar Heating Association (DSF); Finish Solar Energy Association / Statistics Finland – Environment and

Energy; Syndicat des professionnels de l’énergie solaire (ENERPLAN); Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (BSW-Solar); Greek Solar Industry Association (EBHE);

Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEIA); Assotermica; Latvian Solar Thermal Collector Association; Energy Statistics Division – Statistics Lithuania; Malta

Resources Authority; Holland Solar; SPIUG - Association of Heating Appliances Manufacturers and Importers in Poland; Associação Portuguesa da Indústria Solar

(APISOLAR) ; Camera de Comerţ şi Industrie Româno-Germană (AHK); THERMO/SOLAR Ziar s.r.o.; University of Ljubljana; Association, Solar De La Industria

Termica (ASIT); Svensk Solenergi; Chalmers University of Technology; Swissolar; Solar Trade Association (STA).

Figures for countries marked with an * are ESTIF estimations and, therefore, these are not sufficiently accurate to be used for percent change calculations in these markets.

1) The relation between collector area and capacity is 1m² = 0.7kWth (kilowatt-thermal)

2) Capacity “in operation” refers to the solar thermal capacity built in the past and deemed to be still in use. ESTIF assumes a 20 year product life for all systems

installed since 1990. Most products today would last considerably longer, but they often cease to be used earlier, e.g. because the building was demolished, or

there has been a change of building use.

3) The figures shown here relate to Metropolitan France (mainland). As a reference, in 2010 the overseas departments amounted to 49 MWth (70,000 m²).

MARKET SIZE IN TERMS OF SOLAR THERMAL CAPACITY

(KWth) AND IN TERMS OF COLLECTOR AREA (M2)

> 250 kW

50-250 kW

25-50 kW

15-25 kW

< 15 kW

SOLAR THERMAL MARKETS

IN EUROPE DATA FOR 2015

Ireland-7.5%241 MWth

52.1 kWth

UK-33.5%555 MWth

8.5 kWth

Belgium-13.5%377 MWth

33.5 kWth

France-32.6%1 762 MWth

26.5 kWth

Portugal-9.5%686 MWth

66.1 kWth

Spain-5.6%2 296 MWth

49.4 kWth

Netherlands-31.5%399 MWth

23.6 kWth

Luxembourg*

39 MWth

69.3 kWth

Switzerland-29.3%981 MWth

119.1 kWth

Denmark47.6%823 MWth

145.4 kWth

Germany-10.4%12 810 MWth

157.8 kWth

Italy-14.6%2 922 MWth

48.1 kWth

Austria-11%2 941 MWth

342.9 kWth

Sweden-1.5%235 MWth

24.1 kWth

Czech Republic-18.9%374 MWth

35.5 kWth

Slovenia-37.8%111 MWth

54.0 kWthCroatia-0.1%132 MWth

31.2 kWth

Malta-38.8%38 MWth

87.7 kWth

Poland6.5%1 416 MWth

37.3 kWth

Slovakia-3.6%108 MWth

19.9 kWth

Hungary-2.2%189 MWth

19.1 kWth

Finland*

33 MWth

6.1 kWth

Estonia*

9 MWth

6.7 kWth

Latvia -19.1%7 MWth

3.7 kWth

Lithuania*

9 MWth

3 kWth

Romania-3.8%111 MWth

5.6 kWth

Bulgaria*

94 MWth

13 kWth

Greece0.4%3 072 MWth

282.9 kWth

Cyprus-4.5%474 MWth

559.4 kWth

Note: The data are usually provided by national solar thermal associations or other national sources. Countries marked with an * are ESTIF estimations and are therefore not sufficiently accurate to set a percentage variation in the market.

Shares of the European Solar Thermal Market (Newly Installed Capacity)

DEFR

GR

ES

IT

CH

DK

BE

Others

AT

DE 30%

PL 10%

GR 10%

DK 10%

ES 9%

IT 8%

AT 5%

FR 4%

CH 3%

PT 2%

BE 2%

OTHERS 8%

PT

PL

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

BECZPLITESIESIEU28+

PTLUMT

CHDKDEGRATCY

Solar Thermal Capacity in Operation (per 1000 Capita)

1 0009008007006005004003002001000

kWth m2

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Development of Main Markets - Newly Installed Capacity per 1000 Capita

kWth m2

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

02005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Austria Germany Greece Italy Poland Spain France EU28+

Other 17

HU

CY

BE

PT

AT

PL

GR

FR

ES

DE

IT

2014

2010

NREAP Barometer

2015

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Estimated energy produced in 2015 in comparison with EU 2020 targets for annual solar thermal energy generation in TWh.

Key

EU28+-6.6%33 242 MWth

64.3 kWth

Country name

kWth per 1000 capita

Cumulative installed capacity in operation (MWth)

Annual evolution 2014/2015

> 250 kWth

50-250 kWth

25-50 kWth

15-25 kWth

< 15 kWth

NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY

ACTION PLANS (NREAPS)

According to the European Commission assessment of the implementation of the

National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs), the projected development

of the solar thermal market until 2020, considering the measures proposed by

the Member States, would be 41.8 to 45.6% below the indicative target. This

underachievement is evident even for countries such as Italy, Spain and France,

which have a great potential for the deployment of solar thermal, if the right

measures are in place.

The discussion around energy and renewable energy sources (RES) has been

mainly focused on renewable electricity (RES-E). Pushed by strong support

policies, RES-E has risen to 27.4% of all power generation in EU28, while RES-HC

represents only 17.7% of all Heating & Cooling. Nevertheless, renewable heating

and cooling (RES-HC) represents 49% (1017 TWh) of all RES generation in EU28,

while RES-E represents only 42% (872 TWh).

With four years left to achieve the 2020 targets, RES-HC still offer a huge untapped

potential, that can be quickly deployed. Solar thermal applications, such as solar

water heaters or solar heat for industrial processes, have demonstrated their

competitiveness. At the same time, investment in solar thermal solutions helps

to promote energy security, reducing energy imports and CO2 emissions while

promoting local job creation.

EU28 Sector’s shares

on total generation

(inner ring) & RES

shares for each sector

(outer) for 2014

Estimated solar heat generation per country in comparison with national targets for annual heat generation using solar thermal systems by 2020, expressed in GWh.

2015: ESTIF data 2020: NREAPs targets

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

IT DE ES FR GR PL AT PT BE CY Other 18

SOLAR THERMAL MARKETS

IN EU 28 AND SWITZERLAND (GLAZED COLLECTORS)

In 2015, the European market faced again a contraction of the newly installed capacity, which totalled 1.9 GWth (approximately 2.7 million m²). This represents a decrease of 6.6% in comparison with 2014. The total installed capacity augmented by 1.4 GWth, attaining 33.3 GWth (47.5 mio m²). It represents an increase of 4.4% on the total installed capacity by the end of the previous year.

The last ten years were characterised by steep growth until 2008, followed since

by a contraction. Still, the average growth over this 10 year period was 2.8%.

Nevertheless, the annual decrease in sales was, since 2009, 7.9% on average.

The main European market, Germany, representing approximately 30%

of the entire European market, as led this decrease with a reduction of

10.4% compared to 2014, totalling 564.2 MWth (0.8 mio m²) of newly in-

stalled area. France sustained the strongest decrease from the larger

markets (-32.6%).

Denmark, with an increase of 47.6% in the market is the best performing

country. As a result of the continuation of the solar district heating success

story in this country, the newly installed capacity in 2015 grew to an astonishing

total of 185 MWth (0.26 mio m²). The total installed capacity has risen by 25%,

to an amount of 823 MWth (approximately 1.2 mio m²).

The performance since 2008, after the implementation of the Renewables Di-

rective, jeopardises the achievement of the indicative targets for 2020 indicated

in the National Renewable Energy Actions Plans. However, solar heating and

cooling still plays an important role in the European energy strategy, allowing

for decentralised solutions to meet the heating and cooling demand in Europe,

replacing the dependency on imported fossil fuels and creating local jobs. The

33.3 GWth in operation generate an estimated 23.5 TWhth of solar thermal

energy while contributing to a saving of 6.3 Mt CO2. In terms of economic

significance, the solar thermal sector reached a combined turnover of 1.9 billion

Euros in 2015, employing approximately 23 700 people.

0

500 0 00

1 000 000

1 500 000

2 000 000

2 500 000

3 000 000

3 500 000

Germany Next top 6 countries (AT, ES, FR, GR, IT, PL) Other 21 EU countries and Switzerland

5 000 000

4 000 000

3 000 000

2 000 000

1 000 000

0

kWth m2

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Solar Thermal Market in EU28 and Switzerland (glazed collectors)

0

5 000

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

35 000

2015201420132012201120102009200820072006

Solar Thermal Market in EU28 and Switzerland Total and Newly Installed Capacity (glazed collectors)MWth m2 (x1000)

Newly installed (MWth) Total installed n-1 (MWth) Annual Capacity (m2)

0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

2 500

3 000

3 500

4 000

4 500

5 000

SOLAR HEAT FOR

INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES (SHIP)

Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) is a promising market for large-

scale solar thermal applications. Currently over 190 operating solar thermal

systems for process heat are reported worldwide, with a total capacity of

over 111 MWth (159 000 m²).

The graph below shows the importance of large scale solar thermal

applications. The largest 20 plants have in total 106 418 m² which is over

70% of the total installed gross area. In total, over 60 % of the gross area

was installed since 2011. The average plant size (of plants > 100 m²) has

increased in the last years. Between 2000 and 2007 the average plant size

was 585 m² gross area. Since then, this value has risen fourfold.

More information about solar heat for industrial processes, namely data

on existing systems is provided on the website http://ship-plants.info as

a result of the work carried out in the framework of the IEA Task 49/IV

(http://task49.iea-shc.org).

SOLAR DISTRICT

HEATING (SDH)

The market for large-scale solar heating systems above 700 kWth of nominal

thermal power (1 000 m²) has been increasing, led by one country: Denmark.

The main reason is a very positive development of solar district heating

systems in Denmark, totalling over 75 systems and 0.57 GWth of installed

capacity by the end of 2015. Though other countries are learning from the

Danish experience and recently new installations came into operation in

Austria, Germany, Italy and France. Since 2008 the average size of the new

systems has increased from 2.3 MWth to over 6.5 MWth. The 19 new large

solar district systems that came into operation in 2015 represented over

120 MWth of newly installed capacity.

More information about solar district heating systems is provided by the project

SDH, supported by EC (IEE) on the website: www.solar-district-heating.eu.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Scale of SHIP plants

0 - 1

00

100

- 200

200

- 300

300

- 400

400

- 500

500

- 600

600

- 700

700

- 800

800

- 900

900

- 100

0

1000

- 20

00

2000

- 50

00

5000

- 10

000

10 0

00 -

40 0

00

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

(-)

60 000

50 000

40 000

30 000

20 000

10 000

0

Gross area (m2)

Sum of gross area per category Number of plants per category

89 plants with 8 517m2

20 plants with 106 418m2

Interested in reading the full report? Our full report will be published soon! If you are interested in reading it, visit our website (www.estif.org/publications/) and get the last updates or send us an email at info@estif.org.