Ocean Renewable Energy: A Comparative Study of Indian and Global Collaborative Research for Sustainability and Policy Implications

To combat the effects of climate change and meet the need for clean energy, the global power sector, over the past few decades, has been undergoing a major transformation for which all possible renewable energy sources are currently being utilized. To achieve sustainable growth, India, like many other countries, is also in the process of energy transition, aiming to shift to renewable energy-based power generation. In this transition, research in Ocean Renewable Energy (ORE) technologies is rising to rapid prominence. This study examines the state of ORE research in India and compares it with global research activities in this field using a graph-theoretical framework for collaboration co-authorship networks in ORE using bibliometric  data on published scholarly articles indexed in two well-known electronic databases covering two 10-year windows: 1999-2008 and 2009-2018, inclusive. A strategic analysis of a number of metrics characterizing the networks’ large-scale structures reveals that the Indian network is highly fragmented, resulting in a singular dearth of large-scale connections for Indian ORE researchers. We recommend effective research policies to improve knowledge generation and dissemination in ORE research collaboration in India (and many other countries in similar situations), based on our findings for Indian networks and pertinent parallels with global ORE. With growing concerns about sustainable energy utilization, our study has policy implications for pressing issues of energy demands in the country.

Keywords: Ocean renewable energy, Research collaboration networks, Large-scale network analysis, Research policy.