Today, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published its Renewables 2024 report, with insights on 2023 developments in the renewables sector and forecasts for the deployment of renewable energy technologies by 2030, including some benchmarks versus the 2050 Net Zero scenario. Due to its relevance for reaching climate targets, renewable heat has its own section in the report, including several highlights on solar thermal.
The report confirms that heat remains the primary end-use sector, accounting for almost half of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of energy-related CO2 emissions in 2023. As heat demand increased in the last years, with insufficient use of renewable heat – despite the availability of renewable technologies – it also deplores that annual heat-related CO2 emissions rose by 5% during the last six years.
Just like other sectors in renewable heat, such as heat pumps, the solar thermal market in 2023 saw a decline of its sales due to high interest rates, inflation, less construction activity in many countries, and an unfortunate return to lower natural gas prices and changing policies. The IEA highlights that this happened despite this renewable technology having low operating costs but entailing a considerable investment for households and industrial users.
The report also highlights that:
- For industry, the great potential of solar thermal remains largely untapped. While in 2023 there was a strong momentum for Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP), with 77 MWth of the 94 MWth of global additions, solar thermal contributions overall represent less than 1% of industry sector growth in renewable heat consumption. There is still a lot to be done here, and IEA highlights the importance of investment subsidies for SHIP.
- In buildings, the use of solar heat is expected to reach 40% globally by 2030, with the European Union having their fair share here along the Middle East and China. Especially tertiary buildings for public and commercial use are expected to feature more solar thermal installations, in line with a greater market shift towards large-scale applications.
- Europe is leading globally on renewable district heating growth. Among the factors for this positive trend is the integration of renewable energy, such as solar thermal, into existing district heating networks, supported by RED III targets. The IEA expects renewables to account for 41% of EU district heat generation by 2030, compared with less than 6% globally.
Finally, the IEA alarms us that in order to align with net zero targets, global renewable heat consumption would have to increase 2.3 times quicker than in their forecast. Furthermore, actions aimed at improving energy efficiency would be necessary to reduce global heat demand by 3% between 2024 and 2030.
Our Managing Director, Valérie Séjourné, concludes by saying: “In a context where geopolitical tensions exacerbate the need for energy security and resilience, we call on the Member States to accelerate the implementation of the Fit for 55 package and support the development of the EU-made technology solar heat. Furthermore, we ask European policymakers to provide adequate incentives to scale up the deployment of renewable heat technologies, and solar heat in particular, as outlined in our Political Manifesto”.
About Solar Heat Europe/ESTIF:
Solar Heat Europe/ESTIF’s mission is to promote solar heat as a key technology for the decarbonisation of heating and cooling in Europe and to realise the high potential of solar heat in the energy transition. With members in more than 15 European countries, Solar Heat Europe members cover different parts of the value chain, being based in countries as diverse as Finland or Cyprus.
Contact:
| Valérie Séjourné Managing Director valerie.sejourne@solarheateurope.eu Tel: +32 471 34 19 24 | Anna Ledro Communications and Events Officer anna.ledro@solarheateurope.eu Tel: +32 2 318 40 59 |