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October 15, 2009

Solar Thermal: Leading by Example

by Stephen Lacey, Podcast Editor
Berlin, Germany [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

Back in 1979, President Jimmy Carter put a large solar thermal system on the White House, calling on American businesses and consumers to make solar the future, not a "curiosity" or an "example of a road not taken." Unfortunately, six years later, the panels were ripped down and government support was scaled back. The market collapsed and the solar thermal industry has been scraping by ever since.

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Instead of becoming a symbol of the future, those solar thermal panels became a symbol of government inaction and missed opportunity.

If you travel over to the Reichstag building in Berlin where the German Parliament sits, you'll find a government building that is almost entirely self-sufficient. The Reichstag building uses passive solar, combined heat and power, a geothermal heat pump, solar PV and solar thermal for almost all its energy needs. Germany also happens to be the world leader in solar PV and one of the leaders in solar thermal. A coincidence? Definitely not.

In this podcast, we'll look at how government action can set the national tone and encourage growth of technologies like solar thermal.

First, we'll go over the Reichstag building and take a quick tour of the many renewable energy systems being utilized.

Then, we'll travel to Munich and speak with Gerhard Stryi-Hipp, Head of Energy Policy and Group Leader of Solar Thermal Systems at the Fraunhofer Institute about what Europe can do to continue building its solar thermal industry.

Finally, we'll meet up with Les Nelson, Chair of the Solar Thermal Systems Division at the Solar Energy Industries Association, to chat about how we can get the U.S. solar thermal market moving again. Things are coming around, but there is a still a lot of ground to make up after such a long period of inaction.

This week's podcast is sponsored by Inovateus Solar.

Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.

 

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October 16, 2009
To be practical rapidly on a large scale, retrofit solutions are needed for dwellings as well as public and industrial buildings.

Possible solutions include heat recovery from empty roof space, possibly combined with enhanced heat-recovery controlled ventilation if ever this becomes more economical and consumer-friendly.

Another option may be to include solar thermal recovery in external building insulation projects.
Comment 1 of 9
October 17, 2009
Stephen, this is a brilliant, brilliant, (doubly brilliant) overview/ summary of where America is compared to Germany and the challenges ahead for solar thermal in the U.S.

Thanks so much for this reporting. As a PV guy, it was extremely enlightening to me and I hope that the solar thermal residential industry can get their collective act together and get the word out about the value --and availability--of such a useful and affordable renewable source of energy.
Comment 2 of 9
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October 18, 2009
Solar thermal is much larger than the discussion above indicates. On retrofits (referring to comment 1 ) air source heat pumps are a major resource, particularly in dense urban areas. In areas with more room, ground source heat pumps can be 100% solar thermal ( eg six foot deep horizontal loops ) . Solar penetration of the earth's crust is around 25 feet in mid latitudes. Solar air boxes are another good retrofit option. Passive construction was mentioned, but a lot more can be done with it in new construction. The earth itself is a vast solar collector and ambient air is a huge resource.
Comment 3 of 9
October 19, 2009
Thanks Solar Fred -- I really appreciate that. I am continuously reminded of the historical differences in leadership between the EU and the US. The differences in the development of each market says it all....

I agree, the solar thermal industry has a lot of work to do in order to educate the American public about their technologies -- looks like you should expand your marketing focus beyond PV!

And Bob -- I agree with you that the discussion is far wider than we covered here. Although, here in the Northeast, we need to dig much deeper (mostly vertically) for our ground source heat pumps.
Comment 4 of 9
October 19, 2009
Hi Bob:

I am totally confused regarding your comments on solar thermal as it relates to geo, depths, the 100% figure... etc..
Perhaps I am just missing something that you are trying to say, but none of it makes any sense....

.....Bill
Comment 5 of 9
October 19, 2009
Great podcast! One of our biggest goals as a solar thermal manufacturer is to educate people about the difference between solar thermal and PV. There are so many people who simply aren't aware of other technologies. So thank you for supporting our efforts.

It's amazing that Germany has roughly the equivalent solar radiation as Alaska and is yet the global leader in solar. If solar works in Alaska, any zip code in the US is an excellent candidate for solar.
Comment 6 of 9
October 19, 2009
Hi Vailant. It's true, we really need to get more attention on the solar thermal industry here in the U.S. As you say, there are a lot of people who simply don't know the difference between a solar thermal and solar PV system. Education is half the battle.
Comment 7 of 9
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October 19, 2009
Yes, this is a brilliant summary, to be sure. Hi, Stephen. Keep up the good work. Btw, here's a post I wrote on your podcast about biomass the other day: http://www.2greenenergy.com/biomass-in-the-news/1501/. And, perhaps more on topic, one of several I've written on solar thermal: http://www.2greenenergy.com/solar-thermal-bruce-allen/1064/.

Again, great stuff.
Comment 8 of 9
October 19, 2009
....here goes the classified ads again....
Comment 9 of 9
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