In a commemorative colloquium, convened by the Hellenic Federation of Solar Industries (ΕΒΗΕ) on June 26 in Athens to honour its late President Mr. Costas Travasaros, the leading position of Greece’s buoyant solar water heater market was re-affirmed. The colloquium provided the opportunity for an overview of the development of the market over the last 30 years or so and the pivotal role that Costas Travasaros, a pioneering engineer and entrepreneur, played in maintaining high industry standards not only in Greece but also in Europe.
This was achieved initially through the participation of ΕΒΗΕ in Solar Heat Europe, formerly known as ESTIF, the Solar Thermal Industry Association. This is the Brussels based industry body which represents European solar water heater manufacturers and which Costas Travasaros successfully lead over many years, through his high-level engineering expertise, deep knowledge and years long experience in industrial production. Attesting to Costas Travasaros first class engineering skills, industry leadership and great enthusiasm in guiding European solar manufacturers in achieving high-performance standards, were Stefan Abrecht, a solar thermal veteran and MD at Solar -Experience GmbH and Pedro Dias, senior director at Solar Heat Europe, who delivered thought provoking addresses. In their contributions both Andecht and Dias described their highly rewarding experiences in working closely with Costas Travasaros in developing standards and guidelines and driving European solar industry forward.
Other key note speakers included John Maniatis, ex Energy Minister of Greece and currently Euro MP, and Mrs.Alexandra Sdoukou, ex deputy minister for Energy, who stressed the important role of solar water heaters in energy conservation and the successful utilisation of solar energy especially for households. The need for greater EU support and incentives to the solar water heating industry was underlined by John Maniatis, “in order“, as he said, “to double the 12 million European households which already use SWH installations”. Maniatis further noted the important contribution of the solar water heating industry in job creation, the promotion of innovation in design and installation practices and its overall role in energy transition.
From the various presentations by industry executives which followed, it became clear that the solar water heater market in Greece is a mature, highly successful sector driven by high domestic adoption, robust manufacturing capacity backed by recent government subsidy programmes provided in the framework of RepowerEU. However, it is worth noting that Greece’s solar water heater industry developed as a European leader over the last 40 years without any state subsidies whatsoever. Today, the Greek solar water heater market is considered as the second largest in Europe, after Germany, with cumulative 4733 MWh th in operation. It is worth noting that solar thermal systems in Greece supply roughly 40% of all households and businesses. At the same time Greece is a top European producer and exporter of flat plate collectors and thermosiphon systems, with local firms selling hundreds of millions of equipment annually,
Costis Stambolis, the Executive Director of and Chairman of IENE, participated as a speaker in the EBHE colloquium and referred to his long standing association with Costas Travasaros, stemming from his own interest and professional experience as a researcher, many years ago, in solar thermal applications for buildings. Costis paid tribute to Costas Travasaros who he said epitomised the best in engineering practice and entrepreneurial skill, totally devoted to the promotion of an energy area with huge potential for further development and immediate results in terms of achieving energy savings.
