Solar Thermal in the downturn

Solar Thermal in the downturn

Solar panels already seemed firmly on German roofs have to be booked. As oil prices climbed in 2008 to over 140 dollars a barrel, the newly installed solar thermal capacity doubled to 1,400 megawatts. But with the growth it's over.

The German solar thermal producers managed to double its 2008 turnover to 2 billion €. Within months, the number of employees rose by 10,000 to 25,000. However, the conversion decreases with renewable heat continuously since fall 2008. While booming new oil and gas boilers in Germany, was loudly Heating Association BDH dropped the demand for heat pumps from 2008 to 2010 by 20 percent, sales of wood boilers and solar thermal systems in the same period as much as half. Not a turnaround is in sight: In the first half of 2011 fell to assemble the solar panels compared to the same period by a further 2 percent.

Debt - in addition to the now fallen back oil prices - according to the industry a missed promotion policy. "In truth, the federal government has no interest in solar thermal energy, because everything is in Berlin only to the Renewable Energy Act," said Werner Koldehoff, board member of the Federal Solar Industry Association (BSW). This manifests itself in the solar thermal industry fatal decisions: instead of helping her with additional sales incentives from the crisis, the incentives are even lower. Only 1.7 billion euros in 2010, the Federal Government over its market incentive program and the CO2 emissions from buildings are available, this year there are only 1.2 billion euros. That's not half as much as in 2009 and six times less than the 7 billion euros in 2011 - will be invested in photovoltaics - by levy on the electricity bill. It could be in the heat sector save the most CO2: Half of the total final energy demand (the part of the primary energy that arrives after deduction of transport and transformation losses to the consumer) is in this country used to generate heat, but only a quarter of electricity.