A scientometrics analysis and visualization of the ecological impact of photovoltaic projects

The topic of global climate change has heated up in recent years, and other environmental and energy-related challenges have been continuously gaining attention. At the same time, the concept of sustainable development and carbon-neutral strategies have emerged. Photovoltaic electricity is strongly promoted by pertinent policies as a high-quality substitute for conventional energy sources. Meanwhile, the potential ecological impacts of photovoltaic (PV) projects should also be noted. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive research on the ecological impact of photovoltaic projects. It is of great necessity to summarize the research status and future trends of this topic from the perspective of a literature review. Therefore, a scientometrics analysis and visualization of the ecological impact of photovoltaic projects was conducted in this study, using CiteSpace as the visualization tool. Web of Science and Scopus were selected as the databases, and the retrieved articles were analyzed using co-occurrence and cluster analysis to discover hot research subjects and evolving trends, as well as to examine institutional, national, and author collaborations. The results help in the present study field of the ecological effect of photovoltaic projects in identifying and understanding trends and patterns. This study offers theoretical support for PV site selection and ecological protection nearby. It can also motivate academics, politicians, institutions, and governments to formulate ecologically friendly roadmaps and regimes in balancing PV development and ecological protection.