On 25th February, the European Commission published an assessment of the impact of EU R&D funding the development of renewable energy technologies, produced by economic consultancy Trinomics.
The study looks at the impacts on the development of the technology sectors, the related market and industrial developments, and economic growth generated. It uses indicators like the creation of new companies, capital expenditure and operational expenditure, industry turnover and more.
Solar thermal energy stands out from the rest of technologies for its high net exports rates, highlighting the European dimension of manufacturing in the sector. Indeed, gross exports represent four times the number of gross imports, reaching a total of €600 million net exports in 2015. It is relevant to note that 2015 is actually a low figure compared to the previous decade, where net exports were even more prominent.
Based on the information provided by this report, it is clear that solar heating and cooling is one of the main exporting sectors among renewable energy technologies, just behind the wind and the bioenergy (biomass and biofuels) sectors. On the other hand, solar PV is clearly in deficit, with PV components represent a substantial amount in terms of net imports, which comes to no surprise, considering that most of the products installed in Europe come from outside our continent.
The Trinomics report is a valuable contribution to information sharing about renewable technologies and is available for download here. A factsheet with figures for solar thermal is available as well.
For more information about this report, please contact members@solarheateurope.eu
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