The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Renewable Energy: A Two-Decade Bibliometric and Topic Modeling Exploration

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with renewable energy technologies has emerged as a critical area of research, offering innovative solutions to optimize energy generation, storage, and distribution. This study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric and topic modeling analysis of 4520 articles published between 1997 and 2023, retrieved from the Scopus database. The descriptive and bibliometric analyses reveal a significant increase in research output over the last decade, with key contributions from leading institutions, including those from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The topic modeling analysis identifies ten dominant research themes, ranging from AI-driven energy forecasting to specific applications in wind and solar energy, as well as advancements in energy storage technologies. These themes tackle urgent issues such the intermittency of renewable energy sources, grid instability, and the ecological consequences of extensive energy systems. For example, AI has been pivotal in enhancing predictive maintenance for wind turbines, optimizing the operation of solar photovoltaic systems, and improving battery life in energy storage technologies. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the current research landscape and highlights emerging trends and future directions for AI applications in renewable energy. Future research could focus on integrating AI with decentralized grid systems and exploring its role in energy equity and accessibility.