TY - JOUR

T1 - A large-scale review of wave and tidal energy research over the last 20 years

AU - Khojasteh, Danial

AU - Shamsipour, Abbas

AU - Huang, Luofeng

AU - Tavakoli, Sasan

AU - Haghani, Milad

AU - Flocard, Francois

AU - Farzadkhoo, Maryam

AU - Iglesias, Gregorio

AU - Hemer, Mark

AU - Lewis, Matthew

AU - Neill, Simon

AU - Bernitsas, Michael

AU - Glamore, William

PY - 2023/8/1

Y1 - 2023/8/1

N2 - Over the last two decades, a large body of academic scholarship has been generated on wave and tidal energy related topics. It is therefore important to assess and analyse the research direction and development through horizon scanning processes. To synthesise such large-scale literature, this review adopts a bibliometric method and scrutinises over 8000 wave/tidal energy related documents published during 2003–2021. Overall, 98 countries contributed to the literature, with the top ten mainly developed countries plus China produced nearly two-thirds of the research. A thorough analysis on documents marked the emergence of four broad research themes (dominated by wave energy subjects): (A) resource assessment, site selection, and environmental impacts/benefits; (B) wave energy converters, hybrid systems, and hydrodynamic performance; (C) vibration energy harvesting and piezoelectric nanogenerators; and (D) flow dynamics, tidal turbines, and turbine design. Further, nineteen research sub-clusters, corresponding to broader themes, were identified, highlighting the trending research topics. An interesting observation was a recent shift in research focus from solely evaluating energy resources and ideal sites to integrating wave/tidal energy schemes into wider coastal/estuarine management plans by developing multicriteria decision-making frameworks and promoting novel designs and costsharing practices. The method and results presented may provide insights into the evolution of wave/tidal energy science and its multiple research topics, thus helping to inform future management decisions.

AB - Over the last two decades, a large body of academic scholarship has been generated on wave and tidal energy related topics. It is therefore important to assess and analyse the research direction and development through horizon scanning processes. To synthesise such large-scale literature, this review adopts a bibliometric method and scrutinises over 8000 wave/tidal energy related documents published during 2003–2021. Overall, 98 countries contributed to the literature, with the top ten mainly developed countries plus China produced nearly two-thirds of the research. A thorough analysis on documents marked the emergence of four broad research themes (dominated by wave energy subjects): (A) resource assessment, site selection, and environmental impacts/benefits; (B) wave energy converters, hybrid systems, and hydrodynamic performance; (C) vibration energy harvesting and piezoelectric nanogenerators; and (D) flow dynamics, tidal turbines, and turbine design. Further, nineteen research sub-clusters, corresponding to broader themes, were identified, highlighting the trending research topics. An interesting observation was a recent shift in research focus from solely evaluating energy resources and ideal sites to integrating wave/tidal energy schemes into wider coastal/estuarine management plans by developing multicriteria decision-making frameworks and promoting novel designs and costsharing practices. The method and results presented may provide insights into the evolution of wave/tidal energy science and its multiple research topics, thus helping to inform future management decisions.

U2 - 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.114995

DO - 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.114995

M3 - Article

VL - 282

JO - Ocean Engineering

JF - Ocean Engineering

SN - 0029-8018

M1 - 114995

ER -