Rising demand for uninterrupted power supply coupled with government initiatives for renewable and environment friendly energy systems will foster solar district heating systems market share. The fluctuation in solar yield and the actual heating demand of associated consumers are rarely equal. Solar district heating plants fill in this gap between solar yield and consumer demand. SDH plants are large-scale solar thermal systems, supplying renewable and emission free heat from large solar collector fields through district heating networks.
Seasonal thermal energy storage is often used within SDH networks consisting of large volumes in the range from 1000 m3 to 10,000 m3. They can also store the thermal energy during summer when solar thermal yield is higher to be used during winter at times of high heating demand but low solar thermal yield.
Solar district heating market size has witnessed exponential growth over the last decade, owing to a rising interest in the commercial use of SDH systems. Solar heat has the potential to make a major contribution to the share of renewables in district heating. As per the conditions for further development of solar and district heat, solar district heating may amount between 1 and 58 TWh (terawatt-hour) by 2030.
Following is a list of factors that are expected to influence solar district heating market trends in the coming years:
Government initiatives for R&D in the SDH field to provide impetus to solar district heating market share
Governments across the globe are focusing on emission reduction along with adoption of environment friendly energy systems. Many countries are focused on the R&D of eco-friendly energy systems. For instance, A UK-based independent consultancy working on better environmental and commercial outcomes, Eunomia, the University of Bath and ICAX, a cleantech company providing renewable heating and cooling solutions for buildings & infrastructure, together were granted feasibility assessment funding from Department of Energy and Climate Change UK.
The aim of the project is to depict decarbonization of heating, commissioning an advanced solar district heating network with seasonal thermal storage in the suburban areas. The group’s project also demonstrates a small-scale, modular heat and power energy center in Bristol, using surplus solar photovoltaic in summer in a bid to charge an inter-seasonal, borehole, thermal energy store with air source heat pumps, and in winter, the heat is provided to a district energy network via ground source heat pumps that transfer heat from the warm thermal store.
Growing environmental concerns coupled with rise in R&D spending to promote energy efficient systems will drive the solar district heating market over 2019-2025.
Growing operational capacity across Europe to fuel solar district heating market outlook
Most European countries have defined objectives for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the transition of their energy systems. District heating plays an important role as flexible, smart, organizational and technical solution for the energy transition in the heat sector. By far, 300 plants above 350 kWth of capacity have been put into operation in Europe.
Solar district heating market has witnessed massive growth in Denmark along with several other European countries including Austria, Sweden and Germany. In Europe, the total installed capacity amounts to 1100 MWth and the mean market growth over the last 5 years was more than 35% annually. In Germany, solar thermal plants with a total capacity of 44 MW and a gross collector area of 62,700 sqm are presently integrated into district heating grids.
Without heat storage, solar district heating can supply 10%–30% of the annual demand depending on the annual distribution of the solar radiation and the load. With seasonal storage, SDH can supply for up to 100% of the load and a very high solar radiation level is not necessarily required, as proven by the success of solar district heating in Denmark.
Rapid industrialization across emerging economies to transform solar district heating market trends
Increased investment in construction and industrial sector by growing economies will positively influence the solar district heating market in such countries. With rapid development of urban areas and growing demand for energy that is sustainable and environment friendly, the solar district heating systems will emerge as the sole contributors of efficient energy in the coming years.
Owing to government directives toward emission reduction, construction of sustainable energy infrastructure is on rise. Conventional energy sources are available at limited amounts, and there is a huge scope for renewable energy. Growing demand for sustainable, reliable and efficient heating systems will foster solar district heating market. As per Global Market Insights Inc., solar district heating market size is estimated to surpass $7 billion by 2025.