Journal profile · Energy & Fuels
Solar Energy
ISSN 0038-092X · eISSN 1471-1257 · Elsevier Ltd · UNITED STATES · Monthly
Solar Energy: CAS Zone 2 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 7.88; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,900; review about 102 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: easy; 936 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Solar Energy is published by Elsevier Ltd and is in Zone 2 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems, Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques and Solar Radiation and Photovoltaics, together about 41.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment and Electrical and Electronic Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Official Journal of the International Solar Energy Society®Solar Energy, the official journal of the International Solar Energy Society®, is devoted exclusively to the science and technology of solar energy applications.ISES is an UN-accredited membership-based NGO founded in 1954. For over 60 years, ISES members from more than 100 countries have undertaken the product research and development that has helped the renewable energy industry to grow. ISES serves as a center for information on research and development in solar energy through its publications and key activities such as annual technical conferences, a free webinar series and dedicated student programmes. The ISES vision statement is: 100% renewable energy for everyone used wisely and efficiently. Solar Energy welcomes manuscripts presenting information not previously published in journals on any aspect of solar energy research, development, application, measurement or policy. The term "solar energy" in this context includes the indirect uses such as wind energy and biomass. Because of the international character of Solar Energy, articles that deal solely with the solar radiation or wind data base of a specific country are not normally considered suitable for Solar Energy. Submitted manuscripts may take the form of reports of original studies or reviews of significant prior work in a given area. All manuscripts are subject to reviews to assure accuracy, clarity, and long-term value.This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals, in particular SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action)
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Energy & Fuels
Editor-in-chief Ranga PitchumaniPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 7%); most named United States 13, Italy 12, India 8, Mainland China 4, Australia 3 (61 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic SystemsEnergy18.9%
- Photovoltaic System Optimization TechniquesEnergy12.6%
- Solar Radiation and PhotovoltaicsComputer Science10.5%
- solar cell performance optimizationEngineering5.7%
- Building Energy and Comfort OptimizationEngineering5.4%
- Solar-Powered Water Purification MethodsEnergy4%
- Chalcogenide Semiconductor Thin FilmsEngineering3.7%
- Quantum Dots Synthesis And PropertiesMaterials Science3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Energy & Fuels | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Energy & Fuels | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Energy & Fuels | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 7.88LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 7.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 13LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 13Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.34LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.53LetPub ·
- h-index
- 151LetPub ·
- h-index
- 289OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 13,266OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 8.21OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 20.61%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 869LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 20,558 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 782 | 294 | 541 |
| 2025 | 936 | 239 | 6,750 |
| 2024 | 798 | 228 | 13,375 |
| 2023 | 808 | 213 | 19,697 |
| 2022 | 757 | 158 | 21,866 |
| 2021 | 1,016 | 195 | 35,274 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
102 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 5 months
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 5 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- First decision after review
- 45 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 102 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 9 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,900 / EUR 3,650 / GBP 3,120 / JPY 483,720 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,390 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers2, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Suggested reviewers
- Required, 3
Article types accepted8, with length limits
- brief technical noteBrief Technical Notes (no more than 1500 words or about 3 journal pages), which are self-contained, brief new technical contributions that don't merit a full le…Length not stated
- opinionThe following types of contributions are considered for Solar Energy:1. Most of the papers published in Solar Energy are Regular Papers that give in-depth treat…Length not stated
- perspectiveThe following types of contributions are considered for Solar Energy:1. Most of the papers published in Solar Energy are Regular Papers that give in-depth treat…Length not stated
- regular paperThe following types of contributions are considered for Solar Energy:1. Most of the papers published in Solar Energy are Regular Papers that give in-depth treat…main text ≤ 6,000 words
- research articleRegular papers should be between 4000 and 6000 words (excluding table/ figure captions and references).Length not stated
- reviewThe following types of contributions are considered for Solar Energy:1. Most of the papers published in Solar Energy are Regular Papers that give in-depth treat…Length not stated
- review articleThe following types of contributions are considered for Solar Energy:1. Most of the papers published in Solar Energy are Regular Papers that give in-depth treat…Length not stated
- technical noteThe following types of contributions are considered for Solar Energy:1. Most of the papers published in Solar Energy are Regular Papers that give in-depth treat…main text ≤ 1,500 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Generative AI use must be declared Model summary
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author contributions
For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration;…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interest
Competing interests must be disclosed Model summary
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors should complete the declaration of compe…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles includ…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Only English language texts accepted Model summary
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal operates a single anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor'…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening via Crossref Similarity Check Model summary
To verify compliance, your article may be checked by Crossref Similarity Check and other originality or duplicate checking software.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint references
Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced. Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the nam…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- ISSN
- 0038-092X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1471-1257
- Society / sponsor
- International Solar Energy Society®
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Solar Energy
What CAS zone is Solar Energy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Solar Energy is in Zone 2 of Engineering, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Energy & Fuels. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Solar Energy?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 7.88; CiteScore 13, h-index 289.
How long does peer review take at Solar Energy?
The publisher reports about 102 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 5 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Solar Energy?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Suggested reviewers: Required, 3. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Solar Energy based?
Of the 61 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 7%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (13), Italy (12) and India (8). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Solar Energy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Solar Energy is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Solar Energy open access, and what is the APC?
Solar Energy is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,900.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .