Happy holidays! A look back at an eventful year and aims for the next

Seventy years (!) ago, on December 24, 1954, a group of industrial, financial, and agricultural leaders came to register the Association for Applied Solar Energy (AFASE) as a non-profit organization. Then, on the new year 1955, over 1000 scientists, engineers and government officials from 36 countries gathered for conferences, symposiums and application exhibits – events that propelled solar energy actors into decades of collaboration. We are talking about impactful collaborations where AFASE eventually developed into the International Solar Energy Society, ISES, we know today.

A lot has happened since then, and coming into the holiday season and end of 2024, let me give you a few examples of ISES today, and our exciting activities for 2025.

In July 2024, we had our newly elected Board of Directors starting their work for the term period 2024-2026. I can tell you that this is a team of enthusiasts working hard for the cause, and showing great spirit for also reaching out to all ISES members. Please join us with your ideas, and time, as we work on reaching a wider audience with new science and best practices related to solar energy and sustainable development.

Board of Directors in Limassol, Cyprus (August 2024)

In August, many society members, and additional scientists, entrepreneurs, and young professionals gathered for the Eurosun2024 conference in Limassol, Cyprus – an event that was co-hosted together with our partner the International Energy Agency’s collaboration platform on Solar Heating & Cooling (IEA SHC), and the Cyprus University of Technology. We heard from speakers on many topics − from “roadmaps to 100% renewables” and “sustainable transition”, to systems like “efficient buildings” and “solar district heating”, to components like “energy storage” and “PVT technology”. Workshops were an integral part of the program, for example “Innovation for Sustainable Future”, and “Publishing with Elsevier”. As President of a rather “old” society, it was with extra pleasure I could follow the many important activities by our Young ISES members: Solar Speed-Dating and preparing the Young ISES Declaration 2024 for the upcoming COP29.

speed dating

declaration

                      

ISES also went to COP29, represented by Board of Directors members Andreas Häberle, Chiel Boonstra, Christine Lins, and Gurleen Kaur. Our representatives actively participated in discussions and panels in sessions like “Unlocking the Power of the Sun: Scaling Solar Thermal Heating and Cooling for Energy Transition”; and “Women in Solar” where the very important role of women for a sustainable transition was discussed.

women in solar

Everyday, ISES is involved in many impactful activities. Many ISES members joined the popular webinars together with IEA SHC Solar Academy (e.g., on solar thermal district heating and solar thermosiphon hot water systems); and the IEA PVPS (e.g., trend reports, and 2nd life of PV panels) which were very engaging. In addition, ISES Section in India, SESI organized interesting and highly relevant webinars for all of us to learn about activities across the globe.

Our flagship journals Solar Energy and Solar Energy Advances continue to publish important research and development, related to the many aspects falling under solar energy systems, from fundamental research to applications, to policy and regulations. The trend is for scientific papers to be published with full text access.

I, for one, am planning to browse through some recent articles on Solar Air-Source Heat Pumps for Buildings in Cold Regions, and Ageing Effects in Solar Thermal Collectors. What makes you curious?

We are happy to announce that since September 2024, ISES is now one (of 58) partner of the World Bank Group-ESMAP partnership on Energy Storage, ESP. ESP supports the integration of variable renewable energy in developing countries by recognizing the importance of energy storage. Via ESP, countries are provided with access to finance with acceptable terms, technical assistance, and access to knowledge. ISES is proud to join the effort and can support with knowledge resting on solid scientific ground.

Looking ahead to 2025, a fantastic Solar World Congress will take place November 4-7 in Fortaleza, Brazil (SWC 2025). Please save the dates as this will be one important event, and planned with COP30 following immediately after in Belém, Brazil. A call for abstract will come your way in just a few days.

Please stay tuned for 2025 activities:

  • Impactful -- we shall re-vitalize our InCoRE-education activity under the auspices of Young ISES;
  • Inspirational -- in March, together with GWNET, we will host a webinar high-lighting the accomplishments of women in solar energy, and;
  • Important – we call for all national solar energy associations to connect and collaborate with us, as we remember that 1+1 can be larger than 2.

I hope you share my feeling of hope and excitement as we join together for ISES vision of 100% renewable energy for everyone, used wisely and efficiently.

 

Written by Prof. Viktoria Martin, ISES President