Europe is in the process of missing its 2020 targets! According to the first figures of an ongoing study by ESTIF *, the European solar thermal market again declined in 2015, by 6.6% in terms of new installed capacity compared to 2014, to 2.7 million Of m2 representing 1.9 GWth. The total solar thermal power plant installed has an operating capacity of 33.2 GWh (th) at the end of 2015, an increase of 4.4% compared to the end of 2014, with an estimated production of 23.5 TWh (th).

The ESTIF study covers the 28 countries of the European Union and Switzerland. It will be published on 1 December 2016.

According to the first conclusions, the development of solar thermal as envisaged by the member countries of the European Union will not achieve the 2020 targets set in the national action plans on Renewable Energies (NREAP). According to the European Commission’s estimates, the volume of solar thermal installed in 2020 would thus be 42 to 45% below the targets. In recent years, the deployment of renewable sources has mainly focused on electricity generation. For ESTIF, solar thermal potential should therefore be used for the remaining four years until 2020. Solar thermal applications for hot water and industrial processes in particular have already proved their competitiveness.