Freiburg, Germany – March 31, 2015 – SHC 2015, the International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Conference will take place in Istanbul from December 2-4, 2015 in collaboration with the newest IEA SHC country member, Turkey. This year the IEA is partnering with ESTIF, the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation, and GÜNDER, Turkey Section of the International Solar Energy Society to hold the conference in Istanbul, Turkey. As in previous years, PSE in Freiburg, Germany, will be the conference organizer.

SHC 2015 is an annual industry and scientific conference for leading researchers and companies using solar energy for heating and cooling of buildings and in industry.  Over 300 participants from organizations and companies around the world are expected to attend the conference, which will be held in English. 

International industry leaders will address issues such as competitiveness, new markets and products, future trends, amongst other topics. “We are currently facing a challenging period for our industry. Our challenges are not regional, they are global. We have much to share and discuss between market players from different parts of the world. That debate will take place at SHC 2015 and will help us find new competitiveness pathways, in different markets, with different competitors.”, said Pedro Dias, ESTIF Secretary General and Industry Chair of SHC 2015.

Researcher leaders will cover many topics including the latest technology developments, integration of solar technologies into urban environments and energy systems, solar resource measurement and energy storage.
Istanbul is a highly inviting location as Turkey currently has the biggest European solar thermal energy market. Bülent Yesilata, Scientific Chair of the conference, points out, “Solar energy has played a major role in Turkey’s renewable energy roadmap since the country is located geographically in a region called the ’solar band’.

Daniel Mugnier, Conference Chair of SHC 2015, said “Solar heating and cooling technologies play an important role in energy security and economic development. They are universally applicable due to the need for hot water, hot air or cold air, and create regional employment since much of the value chain is delivered locally.”

The IEA reports¹  that 47% of global final energy consumption was in the form of heat, over half of which is used in buildings and forty-one percent in industry.  Solar thermal technology collects solar energy for use in water heating, industrial process heating and cooling and space heating and cooling.

Download the full press release here (pdf)