About

Solar Today is a print and digital magazine that communicates the data-driven, fierce enthusiasm of the solar power industry to transform our energy use and combat climate change. It is written by experts in our professional community and was founded in 1987.

We are aware of the deep work the energy industry needs to do to create an equitable energy transformation. Solar Today provides insightful perspectives and data from industry experts who can help the solar industry solve the problems it encounters by providing pragmatic, realistic, unfiltered intelligence on the steep path to 100% renewable energy. Our magazine can help troubleshoot and catalyze the innovation process because our writers know their subject matter so well.

As a mission-based magazine published by the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society, which prioritizes economic justice, Solar Today is not politically neutral. We seek contrasting, bipartisan perspectives to encourage dialogue. We are also interested in international viewpoints.

Fairness is key to our success. In May 2022, we took steps to strengthen this. Our editors now ask all contributors to disclose their affiliations with the subjects and organizations they cover. We share this information transparently with our readers. Our editing process includes a step in which we filter out greenwashing.

Quarterly, we invite contributors to pitch op-ed explainers to us. An op-ed explainer is an opinion piece that is grounded in solid data and/or experience. Our writers’ guidelines describe this hybrid story form. Like most other opinion pieces, these articles are unpaid.

We are transparent about our editorial criteria for selecting pitches; this practice supports socioeconomic justice in journalism. We receive around three times as many pitches as we have space to include. Your pitch will be more likely to be selected if it meets the following criteria:

• Is well-conceived and well-structured
• Addresses socioeconomic equity and/or justice
• Aligns with the theme of the issue (our upcoming theme is “Solar Marketing and Consumer Behavior”)
• Fits into one of our existing columns (see below)
• Is written by someone who has a clear voice
• Would accelerate the transition to 100% renewable energy
• Addresses current issues that are of major concern to the U.S. solar industry
• Represents a substantial innovation
• Presents a grounded perspective rather than an abstract one
• Covers information that our audience does not know already
• Is written by an author who will be responsive, constructive, and timely
• Does not contain excessive sales spin

Upcoming pitch due dates for 2023:

Solar Marketing and Consumer Behavior: September 15

We also accept pitches on other topics, including articles for:

• Our Solar Living column, which is for homeowners
• Our Student Perspective section, which is about students’ ideas and research
• Our View from Washington column, which focuses on federal policy

We are currently seeking more articles about solar R&D.

To pitch an article, email two paragraphs summarizing its key points to Kat Friedrich, editor in chief of Solar Today (kfriedrich@ases.org). Please include a one-paragraph bio showing the relevant experience of each author (one bio per coauthor).

Solar Today is now aligned with the ethics standards of the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists. Our editor in chief has completed management training with the Emerging Leaders Institute at the News Leaders Association. She is also in communication with Trusting News, LION Publishers, the Online News Association, the American Society of Business Publication Editors, and other media organizations.

Our revenue derives from memberships, advertisements, and donations. We separate our editorial and advertising processes.

We value feedback and respond to it proactively – including publishing corrections. Our workflow includes iterative process improvement. We communicate with the ASES Board of Directors and the Solar Today Editorial Board about the goals of our publication. You are welcome to contact us via email. Syndication inquiries are particularly of interest to our team.

Support ASES’s mission to create education and outreach for the energy transformation by joining our nonprofit as a member today! Members receive print and/or digital subscriptions to Solar Today and many other benefits, including being a part of the ASES professional community.

ASES only posts six articles per issue on the ASES website. If you would like to subscribe to read the rest of our magazine electronically without joining ASES, you can do so via Magzter, which provides a variety of subscription options.

We invite you to tell your coworkers and friends about these opportunities to join and subscribe.