A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE IN SOUTH AFRICA

This paper performed a bibliometric analysis of publications concerning renewable energy research (RER) in South Africa. Publications from 1978 to 2024 in the Scopus database were retrieved and analyzed in the VOS viewer®. Scholarly publication counts and trends, most cited journals and publications, top funders, prolific authors, institutions, and countries, and leading keywords relating to RER were reported. Also, the RER trend, hotspots, and future were analyzed and discussed. A total of 2226 articles were published in journals, representing 58.6%. South Africa, followed by China, the University of Pretoria, and Science of the Total Environment, produced the most scholarly articles. The work of Sarkodie (2019) had the highest citation counts (805), and Brent AC was the most prolific author with 39 articles. The most used keyword was Renewable Energy with hotspot research centered around solar, wind, and biomass-based energy in South Africa concerning their modeling, planning, application, policy, environmental and carbon footprints, and techno-economic analysis. Future RER unfolds energy transition from low carbon to zero carbon emissions concerning the impact of renewable energy, green and technological innovation, foreign direct investment, natural resources, financial development, and trade diversification and openness on carbon emissions, ecological footprint, and environmental sustainability in South Africa. This work serves as a compendium of knowledge concerning RER in South Africa and thus provides the much-needed template and information for the RER community in South Africa and beyond. This study aligned with the drive to decarbonize energy consumption through the deployment of renewable and sustainable energy in agreement with the Sustainable Development Goals