International Solar Energy Society

ISES is governed by the Board of Directors, who are elected by the global ISES membership on a biennial basis. The Board of Directors elects the executive committee which works closely with the Headquarters-Secretariat to implement the decisions of the Board and carry out the Society's activities. The executive committee is made up of the ISES President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and the Immediate Past President. Additionally, the ISES Executive Committee includes two appointed members from the Board. All Board and Executive posts are on a voluntary basis.

The ISES Board of Directors also includes a total of 19 Board Directors representing the ISES membership, the ISES corporate members, Young ISES and also includes one appointed Director selected by the executive committee and approved by the Board.

All governing principles, general structure, roles and positions within ISES are detailed in the ISES bylaws.

ISES represents a diverse membership of academics, researchers, energy practitioners, consultants, students, businesses, institutions and advocates and for more than 60 years, ISES members have undertaken the product research and development that has helped the renewable energy industry to grow. ISES, through its knowledge sharing and community building programs, helps its global membership provide the technical answers to accelerate the transformation to 100% renewable energy and members benefit from exclusive membership benefits. The society's members are key to the development of the society and it is the global membership that elects the ISES Board of Directors and with this actively guide the work of the society.

ISES members can be either individuals such as professionals and students or corporate members such as companies and institutions. Individual ISES members can register in the following categories: professional, student, silver or gold.

For corporates, ISES offers memberships in the categories of company, small company and institutions (universities, research institutes, NGOs).

ISES Memberships come with a variety of exclusive membership benefits.

Within ISES, special attention is dedicated to future generations of solar professionals. For this, ISES organizes Young ISES, a network of international students and young professional ISES members.

During all ISES conferences, ISES organizes specially dedicated Young ISES forums and get-togethers. These unique events enable younger participants to comfortably get to know each other and share their ideas and experiences. During the ISES Solar World Congress 2019, a “speed dating” event was organized, which successfully and in a fun way, connected young ISES members to professors and industry leaders. ISES Student Members can also participate in a dedicated Masters Course in Solar Energy at ISES congresses.

To facilitate the work of the Society, the members of the full ISES Board of Directors work together in different sub-committees such as the Conference Committee, the Membership Committee, Publications Committee or the Outreach Committee. Each committee is led by one member for the board of directors. ISES members can also be active in committees. The committee's work is presented at the ISES Board Meetings as well as internally throughout the year. The ISES bylaws define a set of fixed committees and additional committees can be created as is required.

The first ISES HQ was located in Phoenix, Arizona where the society was formally founded in 1957 and moved to Melbourne, Australia in the 1970s and then again moved to Freiburg, Germany in 1995. The ISES HQ is the focal point for all projects and activities of the society and works closely with the Board of Directors, the executive committee as well as the global ISES community to advance the society's vision. Home to the ISES HQ in Freiburg is Villa Tannheim, a villa built around 1900 which was completely renovated for ISES through an energy saving plan developed by the ISES Silver Institution Member, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in 1995. Those renovations resulted in annual savings of 27 tons of CO2 and the villa features multiple renewable energy sources such as a special transparent heat absorbent insulation, extra energy-efficient windows, an ecologically safe roof insulation produced from recycled paper, outside wall insulation, as well as a roof top solar thermal system. In 2007, a Solar Carport was added to the property and in 2008 a pellet heating system was installed. These renovations and renewable energy application demonstrate an old building's ability to save energy and utilize renewable energy sources. 

The headquarters also houses an extensive archive on solar energy publications as well as research materials and is open to the public.

In 2022, a total of 6 staff members work at the ISES HQ - meet the ISES HQ Team here.

ISES organizes two international conferences and congresses on a bi-annual rotation: the ISES Solar World Congress (established 1970) and the EuroSun Conferences (established 1996).

Programme Cover of the ISES Solar World Congress 1970 in Melbourne, Australia

The first ever international ISES Solar World Congress (SWC) was held in Melbourne, Australia in 1970. Since then, the Solar World Congresses are held bi-annually in countries all around the world.

The ISES Solar World Congresses offer a platform to connect the scientific and research community with renewable energy decision makers, developers, financiers, and practitioners to highlight key technology advances that are taking place in the broad field of solar and renewable energy and welcome several hundred solar researchers, industry representatives, students, business, advocates, and practitioners from all around the world.

In 2020, 2020, ISES celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first SWC with a virtual conference. Under the title of SWC50 – The Century of Solar  the event highlighted the transformation of the global energy sector that has taken place since the first Solar World Congress in 1970 and looked forward to the next 50 years when solar energy will be a major cornerstone of the global energy system. On occasion of this 50th anniversary, ISES launched the virtual ISES Solar Energy Museum and honoured solar pioneers from all around the world with a celebratory booklet.

In 2021, the ISES Solar World Congress was held as a fully virtual event for the first time. In 2023, ISES is looking forward to holding SWC 2023 in New Delhi, India.

EuroSun 2022 Conference Banner

In 1994, ISES-Europe,  a group within ISES established in 1989, decided to organize a bi-annual European Solar Energy Conferences called EuroSun to regionally  promote the widespread application of solar energy technology and the first EuroSun Conference was held in 1996 in Freiburg Germany.

The EuroSun conferences have since been held bi-annually all across Europe and carry the title of International Conference on Solar Energy for Buildings and Industry. In 2022, ISES and the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme entered into a partnership, now organizing EuroSun as the joint ISES and IEA SHC International Conference on Solar Energy for Buildings and Industry.

In 2020, ISES held EuroSun 2020 as a fully virtual conference for the first time and in 2022, EuroSun will take place in Kassel, Germany as EuroSun 2022 - the ISES and IEA SHC International Conference on Solar Energy for Buildings and Industry.

Cover of the Solar Energy Journal (2022)

Solar Energy, the official journal of the International Solar Energy Society is devoted exclusively to the science and technology of solar energy applications.

The journal is published in cooperation with Elsevier and to date (spring 2022) 234 volumes have been published and the journal holds an Impact Factor of 5.742. Since 2021, the journal has been led by Editor-in-Chief Ranga Pitchumani (Virginia Tech, Falls Church, Virginia, US) supported by an editorial team of 58 editors and editorial board members in 23 countries/regions.

The journal covers topics such as Solar Buildings, Solar Thermal Energy Conversion, Photovoltaic Systems, Solar Thermal Power Plants, Materials, Optics, Energy Storage, Solar Chemistry, Resources and Radiation, Economics and Policy and more.

Cover of Solar Energy Advances (2022)

In 2021, Solar Energy Advances, the first ISES fully open access journal was launched by ISES and Elsevier reflecting the work of ISES in transforming our energy production and consumption into a fully renewable system. The new journal complements the successful ISES Solar Energy Journal, launched in 1957, and which remains the flagship scientific journal for solar energy.

The journal is led by Editor-in-Chief Dionysia Kolokotsa (echnical University of Crete, Chania, Greece) supported by an editorial team of 16 editors and editorial board members in 11 countries/regions.

The scope of Solar Energy Advances will cover a broad range of themes relevant to solar energy research, development, applications and impact on sustainable development, climate change, resilience and circular economy. Each Issue of Solar Energy Advances will focus on a specific topic, such as: Integrated solar energy systems and applications, Research and development in solar energy utilisation targeting to improve efficiency, Solar energy for buildings and urban environment, Solar energy microgrids and smart grids, Applications of solar energy measurements, assessments, and forecasting methods, Solar energy, people and public support, Solar energy impact on policy legislation and governance and Solar energy markets and economy.

ISES publishes all accepted full conference and congress papers of the ISES Solar World Congresses as well as the EuroSun conferences on the ISES Conference Proceedings homepage. Here, each paper is published with a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI) in am easy searchable database. In addition to ISES conference proceedings, the homepage also hosts the proceedings of past ASES (American Solar Energy Society) conferences.

ISES shares news from the society, its partners and members in a monthly members newsletter. ISES members have access to the ISES newsletter archive with digital newsletters going back to 2014.

• A series of free monthly webinars on solar energy related topics of high relevance in science, technology development, market and industrial implementation, social issues, training and education (est. 2012).
• Masters Course in Solar Energy: Dedicated Master Courses held at ISES Congresses and Conferences since 2000.
• Solar Speed Dating: A “speed dating” style networking opportunity for groups of young researchers to meet senior experts in their field, offered at ISES Congresses since 2019
• InCoRE: A New Approach to Enhance International Cooperation in Higher Education on Renewable Energies established in 2021 which brings together students and mentors from around the globe.

• ISES Infographics (est. 2018) on solar energy related topics, common myths about renewable energy and solar applications and their use for day to day consumer goods such as electronics and beverages

Virtual ISES Solar Energy Museum: established in 2020 to celebrate 50 years since the first ever international ISES Solar World Congress held in 1970. The museum brings together information on solar history, research and development of the last 60+ years, highlights important renewable energy pioneers, institutions, and companies that were key for the growth of solar energy.

ISES Awards: Since 1975 ISES has been honoring those who have made significant achievements and contributions toward advancing solar energy applications and use through awards such as the Farrington Daniels Award and the Renewable Transformation Challenge

ISES partners with international organizations all around the globe to achieve the society's mission of 100% renewable energy for all.