Academic landscape of hydropower: citation-analysis-based method and its application

Hydropower has superior storage capacity and speedy response to meet sudden fluctuations in electricity demand. According to a recent estimate by International Energy Agency (IEA), its generation capacity could double by 2050. Nevertheless, no great picture of academic knowledge exists in relation to hydropower. This study was undertaken to reveal the academic landscape in this field by analysing the citation network of papers published in academic journals. We collected 7,521 target papers from the Web of Science using a specific search query. Using a topological-based method, all the papers were categorised into clusters according to their own characteristic topics. Results show the existence of six principal research clusters: renewable energy, optimisation of system operation, environmental impact, fish management, water governance and hybrid solutions. Combining the analysis results, clusters were found related to ‘small hydropower’, ‘Mekong Basin hydropower’ and ‘pumped-storage’ are developing, as indicated by the recent increasing trend. Even in developing countries, policymakers should make policy with full access to that knowledge. Governments must prepare environments in which policymakers can access the latest knowledge and information related to their own countries.