Solar power in the European Union - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Solar power in the European Union

Solar power

Solar power

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...

consists of photovoltaic and solar thermal power.

During 2010, the European solar heating yield was 17.3 TWh, annual turnover 2.6 Billion € and employment 33,500 persons (1 job for 80 kW new capacity). Turnover is concentrated in local small and medium businesses.

Photovoltaic solar power

align=center style="background-color: pink;" | PV in Europe (MW_peak)
#	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
1	1,910	3,063	3,846	6,019	9,959	17,370 Solar power in Germany Germany is one of the world's top photovoltaics installers, with a solar PV capacity as of May 2011 of more than 18,000 megawatts .The German solar PV industry installed 7,400 MW from nearly one-quarter million individual systems in 2010, and solar PV provided 12 TWh of electricity in 2010, about...
2	58	118	733	3,421	3,438	3,808 Solar power in Spain Spain is one of the most advanced countries in the development of solar energy, since it is one of the countries of Europe with more hours of sunshine. The Spanish government committed to achieving a target of 12 percent of primary energy from renewable energy by 2010 with an installed solar...
3	46	58	120	458	1,157	3,478 Solar power in Italy Italy ranked as the world’s second largest producer of solar power with an installed nameplate capacity of 9.000 MW and 263.594 plants in operation in 18 August 2011....
4	0	1	4	55	463	1,953
5	26	33	47	104	335	1,054
6	2	4	22	71	574	787
7	5	7	9	19	55	205
8	0	0	0	0.07	0.2	144
9	3	4	18	68	102	131 Solar power in Portugal A large photovoltaic power project, the Serpa solar power plant, has been completed in Portugal, in one of the Europe's sunniest areas. The 11 megawatt plant covers and comprises 52,000 PV panels. The panels are raised 2 metres off the ground and the area will remain productive grazing land...
10	24	29	27	32	53	103
11	51	51	53	57	68	97
12	11	14	19	23	30	75 Solar power in the United Kingdom Solar power is a minor source of renewable energy in the United Kingdom. , about 200 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power have been installed in the UK, capable of producing about 200 gigawatt hours per year of electricity. In April 2010, the UK instituted a feed-in tariff, offering at...
13	0.2	0.4	1	2	9	36
14	24	24	24	25	26	27
15			0.8	1	6	17
16	4	5	6	8	9	>- align="right"	17	4	4	5	6	8	10
18	3	3	3	3	5	7
19	0.5	1	1	2	3	6
20		0.2	0.3	0.5	0.6	2 Solar power in Romania Solar power in Romania had in 2007 an installed capacity of 0.81 MWp. Romania is located in an area with a good solar potential of 210 sunny days per year and with an annual solar energy flux between 1,000 kWh/ m2/year and 1,300 kWh/ m2/year. From this total amount around 600 to 800 kWh/ m2/year is...
21	0.3	0.4	0.6	1	1	2
22	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.5	0.7	2
23	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	2	2
24	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.6	0.6
25	0	0	0	0.06	0.07	0.1
26	0	0	0	0.01	0.05	0.08
27	0	0	0	0.004	0.008	0.008
EU 27 (GW_p)	2.17	3.42	4.94	10.38	15.86	29.33

PV per capita 2010
#	Country	W/capita
1		212.3
2		185.9
3		82.8
4		72.6
5		57.6
6		54.3
7		26.5
8		18.2
9		17.8
10		16.3
11		12.3
12		12.2
13		7.8
14		5.8
15		4.0
16		2.3
17		1.8
18		1.3
19		1.2
20		1.1
21		0.2
22		0.1
23		0.1
24		0.1
25		0.0
26		0.0
27		0.0
EU27 (W/capita)		58.5

The need for the strategic development of photovoltaic systems in the EU has led to the creation of PV-NET, a network that gathers representatives from all the sectors of the research and development community concerned with the photovoltaic solar energy industry (see solar cell

Solar cell

A solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....

). The network promotes communication between speakers through the organisation of specialised conferences, workshops and congresses.

This interaction has led to the editing of a waybill, finished in 2003 with the aim of providing a solid basis for EU leaders and European citizens to base their decisions and policy making and in order to help reach the objective set by the European Commission to multiply the use of photovoltaic systems by thirty times by 2010. In 2002, the world production of photovoltaic modules surpassed 550 MW, of which more than the 50% was produced in the EU. At the end of 2004, 79% of all European capacity was in Germany, where 794 MWp had been installed.

In 2010, Spain had the largest photovoltaic power station in the world – 60 MWp Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park

Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park

The Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park is a large photovoltaic power plant in Olmedilla de Alarcón, Spain. When completed in July 2008, it was the world's largest photovoltaic power plant. The plant uses more than 270,000 solar photovoltaic panels to generate 60 megawatts...

, which was completed in 2008. Germany is on the top of installed capacity with 17,370 MW (almost two thirds of whole EU27 capacity) and also for installed capacity per capita with 212 W.

Solar thermal

Solar heating in Europe* (MW_thermal)
#	Country	Add 2006	Add 2007	Add 2008	Total 2008	Total 2009	Total 2010
1		1,050	665	1,470	7,766	9,036	9,831
2		205	197	243	2,268	3,031	3,227
3		168	198	209	2,708	2,853	2,855
4		130	172	295	1,124	1,410	1,753
5		123	183	304	988	1,306	1,543
6		154	179	272	1,137	1,287	1,470
7		10	14	18	254	533	557
8		14	18	60	223	395	526
9		42	46	48	485	490	491
10		15	18	25	116	362	471
11		29	47	91	254	357	459
12		18	16	23	293	339	379
13		38	38	57	270	333	374
14		20	18	19	202	295	312
15		25	30	64	188	232	261
16		5	8	11	96	111	116
17		4	11	31	52	85	106
18		0	0	6	66	80	101
19		6	6	9	67	73	84
20		1	6	8	18	59	71
21		2	2	3	22	56	62
22		3	4	4	25	31	37
23		2	3	3	18	20	23
24		2	2	3	16	14	16
25		1	1	1	5	6	7
26		0	0	1	3	3	4
27		0	0	0	1	2	2
27	EU27 (GW)	2.10	1.93	3.33	19.08	22.80	25.14
2004–2006 The relation between collector area and rated power: 1m² = 0.7 kW _thermal

Over the next 10 years the European solar thermal will grow on average at a rate of 15% per annum. According to the National Renewable Energy Action Plans the total solar thermal capacity in the EU will be 102 GW in 2020 (while 14 GW in 2006).

In June 2009, the European Parliament and Council adopted the Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from Renewable Energy Sources (RES). For the first time, heating and cooling accounting for half of the final energy demand will be covered by a European directive promoting renewable energies. The overall renewable target is legally binding but renewable mix is free. According to the delivered national plans the highest of solar heating markets during 2010-2020 will be in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

and Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

in respect to the national target in 2020 and capacity increase. Top countries per capita will be Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, Italy

Italy

and Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

.

In some European countries the solar thermal market is still in its infancy. Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, and United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

have extremely low targets in their plans. Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

, and Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

have not included solar thermal in their national plans at all.

Solar heating is the usage of solar energy to provide space or water heating

Water heating

Water heating is a thermodynamic process using an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water are for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating...

. Worldwide the use was 88 GW_thermal in 2005. Growth potential is enormous. The EU have been second after China in the installations. If all EU countries had used solar thermal as enthusiastically as the Austrians, the EU’s installed capacity would have been 91 GWth (130 million m², far beyond the target of 100 million m² by 2010, set by the White Paper

White paper

A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...

in 1997. In 2005 solar heating in the EU was equivalent to more than 686,000 tons of oil. ESTIF’s minimum target is to produce solar heating equivalent to 5,600,000 tons of oil (2020). A more ambitious, but feasible, target is 73 millions tons of oil per year (2020) – a lorry row spanning 1,5 times around the globe.

Solar heating per capita 2010
#	Country	W/ capita
1		611
2		385
3		253
4		120
5		90
6		68
7		57
8		49
9		45
10		34
11		34
12		33
13		32
14		29
15		24
16		24
17		23
18		15
19		12
20		8
21		7
22		6
23		5
24		4
25		3
26		1
27		1
EU27 (W/capita)		50

Organizations

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) is the world's largest industry association devoted to the solar electricity market. The association aims to promote photovoltaics at the national, European and worldwide levels.

EPIA organizes the International Thin Film Conference.

External links

European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

:
European Union Photovoltaic Roadmap 2002
Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign
European Photovoltaic Technology Platform
European Solar Days

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Photovoltaic solar power

Solar thermal

Organizations

See also

External links