Solid growth in solar thermal installations

clipped from www.worldofrenewables.com Solar thermal heating, which harnesses the sun’s energy for domestic water heating, space heating, and other industrial processes, expanded by 19 GW to reach 147 GW of capacity worldwide in 2007 Solar thermal energy produced enough energy globally, in 2007, to meet the equivalent heating needs of 15% of US households. According to the latest Vital Signs snapshot of solar thermal trends, China, with the largest solar thermal heating market, has two- thirds of global capacity and, despite a market downturn in 2007, accounted for 80% of newly installed systems that year. In Rizhao, China, where about 99% of all households use solar water heating, the initial capital costs for solar water heaters are on a par with conventional electric systems, while lifecycle costs demonstrate annual savings of 3% to 6% of the average 2006 household income. Heating accounts for more than two-thirds of total energy use in buildings, which emit 30% to 40% of global greenhouse gases.