+44 (0)24 7671 8970
More publications     •     Advertise with us     •     Contact us
 
Loading...
{megaLeaderboard}
{normalLeaderboard}
News Article

Solar process heat explored

News

Solar thermal systems are able to meet a significant portion of heating requirements in many industrial and commercial settings. For many years, Fraunhofer ISE has been committed to optimizing solar process heat and launching it on the market. The institute recently organized an expert workshop entitled "The Emerging Market for Solar Process Heat." What's more, one of Fraunhofer ISE's current research projects is working on a concept for utilizing solar heat in the laundry business.

At the invitation of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and Fraunhofer ISE, an expert workshop entitled "The Emerging Market for Solar Process Heat" took place in Berlin.

At the event, the German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) gave an initial review of the government incentive scheme. Since August 2012, 50 percent of the net investment costs associated with the use of solar heat for thermal processes in industrial and commercial settings in Germany are being subsidized, with 60 applications for the support having been approved so far. With this funding, heat generation costs of just 4 to 6 euro cents per kWh can be achieved with systems with a life time of 20 years. 

The funding is also available to manufacturers of solar thermal installations who sell self-produced solar heat to customers (contracting). The workshop participants could appreciate the great potential of the concept, and discussed the ways forward and measures required to encourage more widespread use of solar process heat. The experts recognized family-owned businesses without any connection to the gas network and which work closely with end customers, e. g. in the agricultural or service sector, as especially attractive markets for solar process heat. Increasingly standardized solutions need to be developed for these target markets to further reduce planning and installation costs. 

"There is still great potential for the development of optimized system concepts and the integration of solar process heat in complete industrial solutions," remarks Dr. Werner Platzer, Division Director "Solar Thermal and Optics" at Fraunhofer ISE. "The development of concepts that take industry-specific conditions into account and are simultaneously applicable to other industries is an important driving force for the greater use of solar process heat."

Fraunhofer ISE is currently working on a concept for the use of solar process heat in laundries, coordinating a consortium of organizations from the solar thermal, laundry, research and software development sectors. The aim is to provide optimized and standardized solutions for solar process heat generation in laundries, and the range of tasks that this entails is diverse. In close collaboration with the Hohenstein Institut fuer Textilinnovation gGmbH, research will initially be conducted into the technical and commercial potential of using solar heat in the laundry industry. Fraunhofer ISE is developing a scientific simulation environment in order to evaluate different possibilities for solar heat integration, and between three and five standard integration concepts are being integrated into T*Sol software by Dr. Valentin Energiesoftware GmbH. 

Meanwhile, Industrial Solar GmbH is researching ways of modernizing industrial heating networks by developing hybrid solar systems, where Fresnel collectors work with various types of boilers in steam networks. Alongside the solar companies Wagner & Co. Solartechnik GmbH and s-power Entwicklungs- und Vertriebs GmbH, Industrial Solar GmbH is also carrying out the preliminary planning of three flagship projects to validate the design tools developed. The project results will also contribute to the IEA Task 49 "Solar Process Heat for Production and Advanced Applications".

Schletter Group: 48 MWp Project in Italy
ENCAVIS Acquires Two More Solar Parks In Spain and Surpasses The Planned Expansion
Maximum profitability with KACO advanced technology for complex solar roofs
Enviromena wins contract to re-power three major solar farms ahead of the summer energy peak
New Swansea University Collaboration to Support Sustainable, Locally Manufactured Solar PV
New Swansea University Collaboration to Support Sustainable, Locally Manufactured Solar PV
Next2Sun Builds World's Largest Vertical PV Plant at Frankfurt Airport
DNV Publishes Bankability Study of Solcast Satellite Irradiance Data
Steel company SSAB switches to fossil-free energy in Italy with PV solution from Solnet
janom Investments enters the Croatian solar energy industry by investing in a 30 MW power plant project
Trina Solar Vertex S+ 505W n-type dual-glass modules enter mass production
BayWa r.e. and 3E sign partnership agreement for monitoring & analytics of global PV portfolio
Accelerating Spain's Energy Transformation: LONGi to supply Naturgy with 1 million modules in new deal
NTR announces corporate PPA with Almac Group to buy energy from Murley Wind Farm, Northern Ireland
Oxford PV sets new solar panel efficiency world record
Order Intake for the Construction of Wind Turbines in Turkey
Trilantic Europe acquires stake in AEROCOMPACT Group
Octopus Energy makes solar farm debut in Germany
Austria-based KOGA Energy, a solar EPC solutions provider, has kicked off.
Exus to acquire 625MW New Mexico solar portfolio
Capcora Accompanies SUSI Partners In Raising Senior Debt For a Polish Renewables Portfolio
Qualitas Energy acquires a 96 MW wind energy project pipeline in Germany
Nordex Group receives orders from the UK for approx. 150 MW
Trina Solar gains EPD certification from UL Solutions and EPDItaly for industry leading modules
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London instals innovative solar tech to decarbonise heating
Efficiency First: The Road to Electrification
SCHLETTER Supplies Austria's Largest PV Roof System
E.ON partners with UK renewable heat innovator Naked Energy
Sonnedix signs innovative EUR500 million loan facility to finance construction of its renewable electricity pipeline in Europe and UK
Construction begins on Glennmont and Ørsted’s Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm in Germany
ABB shores up reliable power supply at Southeast Asia’s largest floating solar plant
Sonnedix starts construction of 300MW UK solar PV portfolio

×
Search the news archive

To close this popup you can press escape or click the close icon.
Logo
×
Logo
×
Register - Step 1

You may choose to subscribe to the Solar + Power Magazine, the Solar + Power Newsletter, or both. You may also request additional information if required, before submitting your application.


Please subscribe me to:

 

You chose the industry type of "Other"

Please enter the industry that you work in:
Please enter the industry that you work in: