Knowledge structure and research progress in wind power generation (WPG) from 2005 to 2020 using CiteSpace based scientometric analysis

Renewable energy resources have enabled the mitigation of global environmental pollution and sustainable energy generation. Due to renewability, cleanliness, and vast sustainability aspects of wind energy, wind power generation (WPG) systems have recently found rapid development. In this study, the sustainability aspects of WPG systems are briefly summarized by comparing the sustainability parameters for various sources of WPG. The techno-socio-economic, aesthetic, and cultural impacts of conventional wind farms and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the accomplishment of new wind energy projects were also discussed. The study aims to visualize the intellectual background, current research status and state-of-the-art knowledge structure of WPG-related literature using CiteSpace based scientometric investigation. The WPG-related original articles, published from 2005 to 2020, were retrieved from the Web of Science core collection. The most prolific publications, countries and journals involved in the flourishment of WPG research were identified. Moreover, visualization methods were employed to determine the highly productive articles, keywords, hotspots, and research frontiers in the WPG domain. Furthermore, the classification of WPG knowledge was performed in the form of clusters and knowledge structure to achieve ten distinct sub-domains. It was revealed that China was the most prominent country among others in the research of WPG, holding 29% of the total publications; the most probable reason is the more assertive funding support policy from the Chinese government and research institutions, compared to other countries. This study can help the researchers to spot the new research frontiers and distinguish among the most critical sub-domains of WPG based knowledge.