Solar-Thermal News

Worldwide solar-thermal energy capacity far exceeds that of other renewable sources, such as wind and photovoltaics, according to a new report. To make it easier to compare these energy sources, a team of experts representing seven countries, including the U.S., Canada, and several European nations, agreed on a new methodology—replacing square meters of collector area with solar-thermal capacity—during a joint meeting of the International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Program in September 2004. The team coined a new term for watts of thermal power capacity, based on the French heat-energy unit of “thermies.” Using an average figure of 700 watts of usable heat output from each square meter of thermal collector, the team estimates that global solar-thermal capacity stands at 70 gigawatt thermies (GWth).
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