The scientific nexus between renewable energy and oil prices using global bibliometric assessment

The acceleration of the global energy transition has profoundly reshaped research agendas in energy economics. Despite the growing prominence of renewable energy deployment and oil price dynamics in climate and macroeconomic debates, the scientific literature linking these two domains remains fragmented and insufficiently integrated. This study addresses this gap by systematically mapping the intellectual structure and evolution of research at the intersection of renewable energy and oil prices through a comprehensive bibliometric analysis. Drawing on a dataset of 3682 peer-reviewed journal articles and review papers published between 1990 and 2024 and indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, the analysis employs Bibliometrix (RStudio) and VOSviewer to examine publication trends, thematic structures, collaboration patterns, and intellectual foundations. The results reveal a pronounced acceleration in scientific output after 2017, reflecting the rising policy and sustainability relevance of the renewable oil nexus amid intensified climate commitments and increasing energy market instability. China and the United States emerge as the leading contributors in terms of both scientific production and citation impact. Thematic mapping identifies four dominant research clusters: (i) socio-environmental impacts of renewable energy expansion, (ii) technological innovation and energy system optimization, (iii) interactions between macroeconomic activity, environmental outcomes, and oil price dynamics, and (iv) the evolution of global energy markets. Co-citation and bibliographic coupling analyses further reveal a dual intellectual core combining econometric modeling of oil price volatility with sustainability- and policy-oriented energy transition research. By providing the first integrated bibliometric mapping of the renewable energy-oil price nexus, this study contributes to the sustainability literature by clarifying the structure, evolution, and policy relevance of this growing research field, and by offering a coherent foundation for future empirical and policy-oriented studies in energy economics.