Solar Summits - Review Solar Summit 2009

From 14 to 16 October 2009, the focus of the conference held at Freiburg Concert Hall was the cutting-edge subject of “solar buildings”. In excess of 220 participants including architects, planners, builders and manufacturers as well as representatives from the research sector and solar industry were informed about the latest developments in solar energy research and discussed future projects in the solar and energy-efficient construction sector. The presentations and the round-table discussions concentrated on the focal areas of building-integrated photovoltaics, building-integrated solar thermal energy, multi-functional building façades and comprehensive draft designs for buildings as well as on construction projects that have already been implemented based on solar construction principles.

Dr. Hans-Martin Henning, head of the thermal installations and building systems department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE: “This year’s solar summit conference dealt very successfully with the subject of solar energy utilisation in buildings. At more than 20 scientific lectures, both the integration in buildings of photovoltaics and solar thermal collectors as well as overall concepts for reducing the energy needs of buildings were presented and discussed in a comprehensive manner. In previous years, the focus in the area of building systems was on energy efficiency while standards such as the passive house were developed. The conference this year showed that standards have moved beyond that stage today and that buildings are regarded not only as energy consumers but also as energy generators.”

Here you can find a variety of impressions of the congress and the final report 2009.

Statements from the participants

Hans-Josef Fell, member of parliament in the German Bundestag, spokesman on energy and technology for the Bündnis 90 / The Greens fraction in the German Bundestag
“The contributions and discussions at Solar Summit 2009 illustrate just how large the possibilities and advantages of the integration of solar energy in buildings and the energy system as a whole are. Also of significance is the necessary general political framework which is also the reason why we call on the parties currently engaged in coalition talks to ensure that the political conditions for photovoltaics and other renewable energies do not deteriorate.“

Dieter J. Holzmann, Dieter Holzmann management services, Germany
“Excellent organisation, in the preparation phase too. Good selection of subjects and speakers. In all, a successful event that I’m sure I will want to visit again in the future.“

Dipl.-Ing. Volker Geyer, Chief Technology Officer, Scheuten Solar, Germany
“The necessity of zero-energy buildings was made clear for all to see. Interesting strategies for achieving this goal were presented. An event I can thoroughly recommend.“

Dr. Azaher Iqbal, CEO-Environment, Qatar
“An excellent opportunity of sharing the power of knowledge, experience and expertise in integrating construction with technological innovations in PV. Personally I made the acquaintance of experts, thinkers and dynamic personalities from all over the world and recommend such focused events. They contribute immensely to the application of science and technology in a much needed area for the survival of our planet.”

Takuya Hongo, General Manager, Sales Promotion Marketing at MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL, Japan
„I have been working with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation in Japan. We are developing an “organic PV” which would be a lightweight, flexible and competitive product. The congress was a very instructive one with regard to the design of new PV products.”

Prof. Dr. Renata Antoun Simão, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
“Since 1992, when I was first in Europe, I have followed the outstanding work of Germany in the solar energy field. Although not working in the field, I always found it impressive. It was only 3 years ago that I started my activities in the solar thermal field in the production of selective surfaces. I thought attending the solar summit could be a good chance of giving me a better understanding of the problems related to the field of solar energy and the future challenges. And that is certainly what I was able to find there.”

Dr Mark Snow, Senior Researcher, Faculty of the Built Environment, University of NSW, Sydney, Australia
“Germany has been at the forefront of a multi-billion dollar global solar industry (and this momentum should be sustained). I commend the Fraunhofer Institute through the Solar Summit event for pushing forward the opportunities of solar integration and energy efficient buildings and built environments.”

Dr. Marco Barsacchi, R&D Director Europe, Dow Europe GmbH, Switzerland
“The discussion with all players in the value chain, from material producers to architects and builders, has been a true added value.”