After the tremendous growth of 58 percent in the solar thermal market in 2006, sales and newly installed capacity had recently declined in Germany. Nevertheless, it is still the market leader in the European market. The trend across Europe is also positive: especially in Spain, France and Italy, solar thermal technology is seeing unprecedented growth due to the high oil price and the desire for independence from fossil fuels, and also as a result of statutory regulations. Horst Dufner, Project Manager of organizer Solar Promotion GmbH, sees this as a logical consequence of the industry’s development: “With the internationalization of the industry and the constant growth in international exhibitors and visitors in the field of solar thermal technology at Intersolar, this step seems almost overdue.“

The range of themes at the Solar Thermal Industry Forum will cover every aspect of solar thermal power generation, such as innovative collector technologies, manufacturing innovations, innovative storage technologies, presentation of current projects for a solar local heat supply in conjunction with seasonal storage, European and global markets, developments in the area of standardization and certification, current trends in the area of solar thermal power plants. According to the organizer’s press release, this year for the first time Intersolar will be awarding prizes to groundbreaking products and services in the categories of “Photovoltaics” and “Solar Thermal Technology”.