Mapping 30 Years of Sustainability of Solar Energy Research in Developing Countries: Indonesia Case

Abstract

Research into converting solar light energy into electricity using so-called photovoltaic (PV) technology or solar cells (SCs) was started a long time ago. However, most developing countries tend to lag behind. The present work delivers a bibliometric mapping analysis of 30 years of Indonesian solar energy research papers in the Scopus database. A multidisciplinary point of view is used to cover the findings comprehensively, highlighting the emerging gaps, orientation, and promising future research that will benefit many researchers, governments, and industry. Two essential keywords, “photovoltaic” and “solar cell”, were used to harvest the data. A total of 1886 documents were finally investigated. The VOSviewer was utilized as a proper complement for visualizing and analyzing the publication trends based on the keywords and authorships. Many aspects of solar research have been explored, including the basic science of semiconductors, simulation, lab-scale device fabrication, and the application of technologies and policies. The findings show that the two keywords determined the research characteristics. It also reveals that the geographical location had a remarkable impact on publication distribution. The most striking result is that a minimum of 1146 documents are centralized on Java Island. In addition, the policies related to renewable energy show a strong impact: two years after the policies were announced, the publications exhibited a two-fold increase. The results also suggest that future research should focus on the increasingly significant domestic component of silicon-based solar cells, the various multidisciplinary approaches for making PV utilization more affordable, and on shifting towards the use of perovskite solar cells. Solid national and international collaboration should be continued for the sustainability of Indonesian solar energy research.

Benefit Optimization and Energy - Economy Environmental Analysis of Solar Rooftop Photovoltaic System at Industrial Segment in Indonesia

“…This raises the question of how to choose the right solar PV system technology for the industrial segment with optimal benefits. This problem is in line with the conclusions of previous studies which said that research on the installation, optimization, and evaluation of solar photovoltaic cases in certain places in Indonesia would be interesting to do as further research [16]. Other studies also mention that optimizing the cost of solar PV systems with objects other than houses with different attributes can be used as a topic for further research [17].…”

“…Based on data from 2019 to October 2020, the growth in the installed capacity of solar rooftop PV systems has almost doubled. Solar rooftop PV systems grew from 16.66 MWp in 2019 to 30.38 MWp in 2020 [13]. Based on IESR 2021 data, the industrial segment is the segment with the largest installed solar rooftop PV systems capacity in 2020.…”

Brazilian researchers’ activity in international publication: a comparative view between Applied Social Sciences and Engineering

“…Although open access publication is a growing movement, Salager-Meyer's (2008) concern that the current structure favours the perpetuation and widening of the gap between rich and poor countries still seems to be valid. Research, especially the type that produces international publications, demands high investment, which many developing countries cannot afford (Madsuha et al, 2021;Van Helden, 2012). According to Gibbs (1995), developing countries counted for only 5,3% of the money invested in research worldwide at that time.…”

“…The outcomes of the activity for developing countries are clearly unfavourable. There are evident inequities in the conditions to participate in the competitive activity (Altbach, 2007;Brüggmann et al, 2017;Hultgren, 2019;Madsuha et al, 2021;Van Helden, 2012), but several authorities remain blind to such inequities, and insensitive to their scholars' needs. In addition, the focus on research topics determined by publishers makes researchers deviate from the areas in which research is needed for the benefit of the populations in poorer countries.…”

Analisis bibliometrik perkembangan potensi energi baru dan terbarukan di Indonesia menggunakan R Biblioshiny dan VosViewer

“…Melaui Rencana Umum Energi Nasional, pemerintah telah menargetkan EBT dari 11,9% menjadi 23% hingga tahun 2025 mendatang. Madsuha et al (2021) melakukan analisis pemetaan dengan bibliometrik selama 30 tahun terhadap publikasi penelitian energi surya Indonesia dalam database Scopus. Pemetaan menggunakan software vosviewer.…”