Mai 20, 2010
Database of incentive programmes

The international website www.solarthermalworld.org offers you a publicly available database on incentive programmes worldwide. It is continually being updated and currently contains more than 40 measures from 22 countries, listed by the date these measures became effective.

The link on the programme name of each entry will redirect you to a table containing key information about the scheme, such as target group, duration, eligible technologies, support agencies in charge and average, as well as maximum subsidy level. You will find the database here.

Most of the incentive schemes base on rebate programmes which generally grant a fixed amount in relation to 1 m² of collector area, or a collector system. The downside is that they offer no motivation to improve a collector system’s efficiency. Performance-based incentives try to compensate for it by making the subsidy level dependent on the yield, which is calculated or measured depending on the system size. This type of incentive mechanism has already been implemented in three countries, namely Sweden, France and the Netherlands, as well as in California. The combination of low-interest loans and rebates has even cropped up in three other countries: in Bulgaria, Tunisia and South Korea.

Please note that the database does not cover the US except for the latest programme in California, because there has already been a very good online database for the 50 stats on a public domain (www.dsireusa.org).

US authorities prefer tax credits when it comes to providing incentives for solar thermal energy. It is therefore possible to deduct some of the investment costs from income or corporation tax when filing the next tax return. Outside the US, there are only three other countries listed with tax credit programmes on www.solarthermalworld.org: France, the Netherlands and Chile.