SUN ON THE WATER

Solar energy could meet one-sixth of global demand for heating and cooling in under 40 years; Investing in a broad range of solar heating and cooling technologies could save 800 megatonnes of CO2 emissions per year by 2050, IEA report finds

9 July 2012 (International Energy Agncy)

“Solar energy could account for around one-sixth of the world’s total low-temperature heating and cooling needs by 2050, according to… the International Energy Agency (IEA). This would eliminate some 800 megatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year, or more than Germany’s total CO2 emissions in 2009…[The] Solar Heating and Cooling Roadmap outlines how best to advance the global uptake of solar heating and cooling (SHC) technologies, which produce very low levels of greenhouse-gas emissions. Some SHC technologies, such as domestic hot water heaters, are already widely in use in certain countries, but others are just entering the development phase.

“…[S]olar heating and cooling today makes a modest contribution to world energy demand…[but] if governments and industry took concerted action, solar energy could annually produce more than 16% of total final energy use for low-temperature heat and nearly 17% for cooling. This would correspond to a 25-fold increase in absolute terms of SHC technology deployment in the next four decades…In addition to replacing fossil fuels that are directly burned to produce heat, solar heating technologies can also replace electricity used for heating water…This would be especially welcome in warm climate countries without gas infrastructure and lacking alternative heating fuels…[and] solar thermal cooling technology…can reduce the burden on electric grids at times of peak cooling demand by fully or partially replacing conventional electrically powered air conditioners in buildings…”

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“The roadmap also stresses the scope for expanding use of these technologies,,,[to reduce] several industry sectors’ significant energy demand for low- and medium-temperature heat in such processes as washing, drying agricultural products, pasteurisation and cooking..Those industrial processes offer enormous potential for solar heating technologies, which could supply up to 20% of total global industrial demand for low temperature heat by 2050…

To realise the goal outlined, the IEA roadmap recommends key actions which governments should take…[including] creating a stable, long-term policy framework for solar heating and cooling; introducing economic incentives…addressing barriers such as a lack of quality-control standards…providing funding and support-mechanisms for research, development and demonstration…[and expanding] efforts to accelerate the deployment of mature and competitive SHC technologies…”

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