- 1.5 GWth for analuminium refineryin Saudi Arabia planned by Glasspoint, USA
- 154 MW forcopper minesin Chile planned by Gasco, Chile
- 16.4 MW for amalting plantin Croatia planned by New Heat, France
- 30 MW for brewery Heineken with parabolic troughs in Spain realized by Solarlite, Germany
- 32 MW for district heating utility in Tibet/China, realized by Solareast Group, China
Solar electricity is the fastest growing renewable heat source in buildings
- PV2Heat systems feed the direct current from rooftop PV panels directly to a DC resistance heating element in a hot water tank. By the end of 2023, around 34,000 PV2Heat systems had been installed in South Africa.
- Partially coupled PV hot water technologies are attractive in markets with a high share of PV capacity penetration, such as Australia. Smart meters optimize self-consumption of PV electricity in electric water heaters.
- Solar combi-systems powered by PV are a relatively new application with first projects reported from Switzerland and Germany. Here, a solar combi-system – for hot water and space heating supply – is partly powered by solar electricity.
- PV district heating: In September 2023, a ground-mounted photovoltaic system with a capacity of 125 MW was commissioned in the German municipality of Bundorf. 1.5 MW of the PV plant is directly connected to the neighbouring heating centre of the district heating network. There, a 400 kW electric boiler and a 200 kW air heat pump process the solar power into heat. Solar power will generate approximately 54% of the heat demand for an initial 30 connected buildings throughout the year.
Bärbel Epp
