What renewable energy topics does ISES cover in its news and publications?

ISES (ises.org) covers renewable energy through three main channels: a news column published in pv magazine, its peer-reviewed journal Solar Energy, and conference material tied to events such as EuroSun. The topics visible on its site cluster around electrification and demand growth, rooftop solar in developing markets, long-duration storage and grid flexibility, and solar research published in the journal. If you want to know what the organization actually writes about before joining or following it, the news column and journal volumes are the most direct evidence.

The main topic areas visible on the site

Electrification and rising electricity demand

The October 2026 ISES column in pv magazine, titled "Electrifying everything," frames the issue around COP31's aim to raise electricity's share of global final energy demand from 20% to 35% by 2035. This is the macro-level theme: how much of total energy use shifts to electricity, and what that means for accelerating a clean, affordable transition. Readers interested in demand-side trends and international targets will find this the most policy-oriented strand of ISES coverage.

Rooftop solar in African markets

A September 2026 column, "Very low cost rooftop solar slashes domestic energy cost – Part 3: African Countries," looks at the 54 countries of the African continent. The site's summary notes that rooftop photovoltaics is growing rapidly in some African nations but that uptake is highly uneven. This is a recurring pattern in ISES coverage: a specific technology (rooftop PV), a specific cost claim (very low cost reducing domestic energy costs), and a regional focus that highlights disparity rather than a single continental trend.

Long-duration storage and grid flexibility

An August 2026 column covers "Unlimited long duration, long-lived pumped hydro storage." The framing is that solar- and wind-dominated grids need abundant long-duration storage, and that off-river pumped hydro offers large potential — the summary cites 800,000 sites. This topic connects the generation side (variable renewables) to the storage and flexibility needed to absorb it.

Peer-reviewed solar research

The site lists Solar Energy journal volumes as they are published, for example Volume 315 Parts 1 and 2 and Volume 314 Parts 1 and 2 across August 2026. These entries point readers to the latest solar energy research rather than summarizing findings on the homepage, so the journal is the place to go for technical depth.

How the channels differ

What this means if you are deciding whether to follow ISES

The site positions ISES as "the global voice for renewable energy" and frames its mission as driving a transition to a 100% renewable energy future. Its public content is a mix of short, argument-driven columns and pointers to journal research, with conference activity layered on top. If your interest is in electrification policy, solar deployment in emerging markets, or storage for high-renewable grids, the column archive is the fastest way to sample the coverage. If you need citable research, go directly to the Solar Energy journal listings. Note that some material sits behind a user login, and the site does not publish pricing details on the pages reviewed here, so check membership terms directly before assuming what access a given tier includes.