mapping solar photovoltaic research in india
TRANSCRIPT
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Mapping Solar Photovoltaic Research in India
Bikramjit Sinha
Despite being the first country in the world to have a dedicated agency/department for
renewable energy1, India lags far behind many nations in technological competency as well
as utilization of solar energy2. Low level of solar energy utilization in India and also the
world as a whole is because of the high unit cost of solar energy relative to other traditional
fuels, even after incorporating associated positive externalities3.High cost of solar energy is
mainly due to the low conversion efficiency and high cost of solar cell materials. Two main
strategies that can help in reducing the unit cost and increasing the utilization of solar energy
are:
Improvement in technology to enhance conversion efficiency Search and develop low cost solar cell materials.
So far, solar energy has been harnessed mainly through two technological routes - solar
photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal. Of the two, solar PV is more advanced and developedthan solar thermal; so the present study focuses on the former.
As far as India is concerned, the above two strategies have been rightly identified in the 11th
plan. Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) has identified these two areas for
huge R&D investments to meet the ambitious target of 20,000 MW by the year 2022. After
the solar mission, it has become all the more necessary to map the solar PV research in India
including who is doing what, potential collaborators and areas of collaboration.
The present study aims to analyze and understand the pattern of Indian solar PV research
output during 2000 to 2009, including shift in research thrust, if any.
Methodology
Indian solar PV publications during 2000-2009 were extracted from Scopus. For analysis,
first author approach was applied. To compare the scientific impact, two indicators namely
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citation per paper (CPP) and relative citation index (RCI) were used. RCI is relatively a new
indicator developed by Thompson Reuters to calculate Science and Engineering indicators.
Relative Citation Impact (RCI) = An institutes share of total national citations/ An institutes
share of total national publications
RCI = 1 indicates that the authors/institutes citation rate is equal to national citation rate;
RCI>1 indicates that the authors/institutes citation rate is higher than the national citation
rate and RCI100 reflects higher collaborative effort than Indian average and DCI/ICI
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yearly n
of consis
Commu
Indian s
countries
publishe
journals.
publicati
highest n
Jour
Solar
Solar
Rene
Proc.
Engin
Ener
Thin
mber of pu
tency in pu
Fig 1
ication Ch
lar PV res
. Only 185
in foreign
The top 6
ons (Table
umber of p
Table 1:
al title
Energy Mate
Energy,Engl
able Energy
of SPIE t
eering, USA
y Conversio
olid Films,
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
No.ofpapers
blications a
lishing nu
. Pattern of
annels
earchers pu
papers (~1
journals.
ournals tog
1). The jou
pers.
Top 6 most
rials and Sol
and
,England
e Internatio
and Manag
witzerland
2000 2001
d the years
ber of pape
olar PV pu
blished thei
0%) were
ighest nu
ether attrac
nal, Solar
preferred j
r Cells,Neth
nal Society
ment,Engla
2002 2003
4 - 9 5
was found
s over the
lication in I
ir findings i
published i
ber (512)
ed 394 pap
nergy Mat
urnals of In
erlands
for Optical
d
2004 2005
to be weak
ears.
dia during
in 481 jour
Indian jo
papers wer
ers accounti
erials and
ian solar P
Total
Publicati
165
58
56
51
33
31
R=0.810
2006 200
(R2=0.8) i
2000-2009
als origina
rnals and
published
ng for ~22
olar Cells
publicatio
ons
%
shar
9.1
3.2
3.1
2.8
1.8
1.7
2008 200
dicating la
ting from
he rest we
in Americ
of the tot
published t
IF
2009
3.853
2.011
2.226
0.553
1.994
1.727
9
k
3
e
n
al
e
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Based o
found th
(AIF) o
journals.
Thrust i
Of the
standardi
keyword
of once-
focus. T
Thrust i
Observat
non-Si
intensity
higher p
well wit
2009 IF o
at Indian so
1.8. Of th
solar PV
otal 1808
ized by exp
s thus obtai
nly keywor
us, solar P
solar PV
ion of TAI
aterial has
of decrease
blication a
the anticip
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
20
40
60
80
TAI
f the journ
lar PV pape
e 1.808 d
research: A
publication
anding the
ed, 1488 (
ds indicates
research in
Fig 2. Chan
research
values reve
increased.
in a-Si wa
tivity in c-
ted domina
SILICON
NON
SILICON
ls in which
rs were pu
cuments, 3
nalysis of a
, only 12
abbreviatio
5%) appea
lack of con
India appe
ges in TAI o
as studied
led that res
Though ac
comparati
i is an indi
nce of solar
cSi
4 - 9 6
Indian sol
lished in jo
78 (~21%)
uthor key
2 had aut
s and che
ed once an
tinuity in re
rs to be stil
f different s
with rega
earch in Si
tivities in
ely higher
cation of en
PV by c-Si.
CdTe
r PV paper
urnals with
papers we
ords
or keywor
ical formu
232 appe
search and
l explorator
lar PV mat
d to diffe
aterials ha
oth c-Si a
than those i
hanced rese
CIGS
s were pub
an average
e publishe
ds. The ke
las. Of the
red twice.
ide dispari
in nature.
rials
ent solar
s decreased
nd a-Si ha
n c-Si (Fig.
arch thrust
OPSC
lished, it w
impact fact
in non-S
ywords we
1998 uniq
arge numb
ty in resear
V material
while that
e decrease
2). Relative
nd correlat
s
or
I
e
e
er
h
s.
n
d,
ly
s
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Sola
SILI
NOTota
Crys
Am
Cad
Galli
Cop
Dye
Org
Tota
Among
DSSCs
OPSCs h
Oin
A R
in
Table 2: Tr
r PV materi
CON
-SILICONl
talline silico
rphous Silic
ium tellurid
ium Arsenide
er indium g
sensitized so
nic and poly
l
on-Si mate
ave increas
ave increas
erall, activi
creased.
ong the Si
latively hig
crease in DS
80
60
40
20
0
20
40
60
80
100
SILICON
TAI
ansformativ
l
(c-Si)
n (a-Si)
e Solar cells
solar cells (
llium seleni
lar cells (DS
er solar cell
ials, growth
ed from 0.
d by 0.5 po
Global sol
ies in Si m
aterials, the
er activity i
Cs and OPS
Changes
NON
SILICON
Activity In
A: Bro
B: Su
(CdTe)
aAs)
m solar cell
C)
ls (OPSC)
in DSSCs
during 20
ints (Table
ar PV rese
terials have
intensity of
in non-Si m
Cs activity.
in TAI of glob
c
Si
a
Si
4 - 9 7
dex (TAI) o
T
d categories
3
8
categories
1
CIGS)
1
nd OPSCs
00-04 to 1.
).
rch thrust
decreased
ecrease in a
terials was
al solar PV m
CdTe
GaAs
different so
2000-04
P TAI
5 1.2
8 0.93
1.1
0 1.4
5 1.6
1.7
0.9
2 0.5
0.6
6
as outstan
during 20
: 2001-2008
hile those o
tivity in a-Si
mainly due
aterials resea
Source:
CIGS
lar PV mate
2005-09
TP TAI
73 0.9
152 1.0225
17 1.0
36 0.9
22 0.8
10 0.7
19 1.0
76 1.2
40 1.1
220
ing. For ins
05-09. Like
n non-Si m
is relatively
to the unpre
ch
xtracted from
DSSC
OPSC
rials
Total
108
200308
24
56
37
18
25
88
48
296
tance, TAI
wise, TAI
terials have
very higher.
cedented
inha, 2011
of
of
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Agency-wise distribution of Output
Knowledge of trend in research output and thrust at the agency level has important policy
implications. For instance, it will be easier and more effective to define future R&D strategies
at the agency level instead of defining them at the level of each sister institutes.
Table 3: Activity Index (AI) of different agencies in solar PV research
Agency TP2000-04 2005-09
TP AI TP AI
Universities/deemed universities & colleges (AI) 705 257 1.1 448 1.0Engineering universities/colleges including IITs (ENGU) 564 127 0.7 437 1.2
Department of Science & Technology (DST) 122 59 1.4 63 0.8
Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) 112 42 1.1 70 0.9
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) 55 34 1.8 21 0.6
Department of Space (DoSp) 53 25 1.4 28 0.8
Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) 40 20 1.5 20 0.8
Industry 38 8 0.6 30 1.2
Agricultural Universities (AGRU) 30 6 0.6 24 1.2
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) 20 11 1.6 9 0.7
Others 69 28 41
Total 1808 617 1191
As observed in the case of Indian science in general, academic institutes were the major
contributors (~39%) to the solar PV output. The next highest contribution (31%) was made
by the engineering universities (including IITs and engineering colleges) followed by DST
(7%) and CSIR (6%). DAE and DoSp contributed 3% each while DRDO, industry and
agricultural universities contributed 2% each (Table 3). The AI of all the agencies have
decreased in the latter half of the study period except those of engineering universities,
industries and agricultural universities (Fig. 3). Being a high-tech area, the ideal picture
should be an increase in AI of related agencies such as DST, CSIR, DoSp and DRDO.
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Engineer
institutesmaintain
forms o
carrying
study.
engineer
PV resea
Agenc
Unive
Engin
(ENG
Depar
Counc
(CSIR
Depar
Depar
Defen(DRD
Indust
Others
Total
Fig
ing univers
, DAE anding a balan
materials.
out research
he major t
ing universi
rch emphasi
y
sities/deeme
ering univer
)
ment of Scie
il of Scientifi
)
ment of Ato
ment of Spa
e Research)
y
15
10
5
5
10
TAI
3. Agency-
ities, DST,
DRDO aree between
Only acade
in all the d
hrust of a
ies and DS
s.
Table 4:
d universities
ities/college
ce & Techn
c & Industri
ic Energy (
e (DoSp)
Developme
AI
ENGU
ise changes
DoSp and i
doing morei and non-
ic institut
ifferent type
ademic ins
is on a-Si
gency-wise
& college (
s including II
ology (DST)
l Research
AE)
nt Organizati
D
ST
CSIR
4 - 9 9
in solar PV
industry are
research ini materials
s, engineer
s of solar c
titutes and
which indic
thrust in sol
TP
I) 36
Ts24
29
12
1
3
ion 1
1
0
107
D
AE
Do
Sp
I during 2
emphasizin
non-Si mat, evident fr
ing universi
ll materials
CSIR is
ates agency
ar PV mater
Si
TAI
0.6
1.3
2.3
1.0
0.7
1.7
0.3
1.4
DRDO
Indus
try
00-2009
g on Si w
erials (Tablm equal T
ities, DST
considered
n DSSC
-wise differ
ials
non-Si
TP T
124 1
30 0
7 0
24 1
3 1
2 0
9 1
1 0
1
201
IC
AR
ile academ
e 4). CSIRI in both t
nd CSIR a
in the prese
hile that
ences in sol
TotalAI
.2 160
.9 54
.3 36
.0 36
.1 4
.6 5
.4 10
.8 2
1
308
ic
ise
e
t
f
ar
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Highly productive institutes
The output of 1808 documents came from 934 institutes. On the basis of first author,
altogether 388 institutes contributed to the total output, of which only 100 (26%) institutes
have CPP >=national CPP. In terms of RCI values also, a similar picture was observed. Some
of the institutes having outstanding and very high RCI values in decreasing order are NIIST-
CSIR (17.3), Raman Research Institute (11.4) and Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (10.9).
Table 5: Top 10 productive institutes in solar PV and impact of their research output
Institute TP TC CPP RCI
Indian Institute of Technology-New Delhi 160 791 4.9 1.1
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Sciences-Kolkata
89 500 5.6 1.2
Jai Narayan Vyaas University-Jodhpur 63 167 2.7 0.6National Physical Laboratory (CSIR)-New Delhi 48 110 2.3 0.5
Jadavpur University-Kolkata 48 117 2.4 0.5
Shivaji University-Kolhapur 47 404 8.6 1.9
Indian Institute of Technology -Bombay 43 163 3.8 0.8
Banaras Hindu University-Varanasi 42 139 3.3 0.7
Anna University-Chennai 39 221 5.7 1.2
Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore 36 192 5.3 1.2
Taking 2% share of the national output as cut-off, the most productive institutes along with
their total publication (TP), total citations (TC), CPP and RCI values are listed in table 5.
These 10 institutes together contributed 615 papers and attracted altogether 2804 citations.
With a total of 160 papers, IIT-Delhi heads the most prolific institutes. CPP of 5 out of the 10
most prolific institutes was higher than the national CPP. Further, performance of the
institutes judged from their RCI values revealed that only 5 institutes had RCI >= 1. These
indicate that all highly productive institutes do not attract more citations.
Based on first author, 1147 contributed to the total output of 1808 papers, of which only 248
authors had CPP higher than the national average. Based on RCI values, it is evident that
impact of the research done by only 25% authors was higher than the national level.
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Citation Analysis of Indian solar PV research
The total 1808 papers have received 8379 citations during 2000-2009 with an average rate of
citation as ~5. Of the 1808 documents, 775 (~43%) papers did not receive any citation and
the remaining 57% papers received one or more citations (Table 6). Of the 1033 cited papers,
about 38% received more than 5 citations each.
Table 6: Impact of Indian solar PV output
Times cited No. of papers Total citations
0 775 0
1 202 202
2 144 288
3-5 293 1135
5-10 189 1436
10-20 139 2006
21-50 47 1398
51-100 14 1047101-200 3 416
>201 2 451
Total 1808 8379
Four out of the 5 highly cited papers (citations >100) were written in joint collaboration with
foreign institutes except the one from Shivaji University. National Institute of
Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR), Shivaji University, Mysore University,
Indian Institute of Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Reseacrh and Bhaba Atomic
Research Centre make their presence in the top cited papers. Absence of centres of excellence
such as IITs, NITs, and nationally reputed universities in the list of top-cited papers is clearly
visible. This otherwise indicates the emergence of new centres of research in the country.
Collaboration pattern in Indian solar PV research
Collaboration pattern was studied at the institute level. Here, a paper written by multiple
authors but belonging to the same institute is considered as a non-collaborative paper and all
such papers are termed as domestic single-institute publications. Out of 1808 papers, 933
(52%) were domestic single-institute publications and the remaining 875 were written in
either domestic or international collaboration. Most of the collaborative papers have been
produced through bilateral collaboration (Fig. 4).
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There se
PV reseand alm
the colla
almost in
Domestic
Number
DCI and
collabor
Fig 4. Dist
ems to be a
rch: out ofst equal nu
borative pa
parallel (Fi
Fi
and internat
of papers w
ICI values
tive effort
0
50
100
150
200
250
No.ofpapers
ibution of s
balance bet
he 875 collber of pap
ers, both d
g. 5).
g 5. Trend o
ional collab
ritten in do
in two blo
was relativ
4
2000 2001
T
lar PV out
een domes
aborative pers (435) w
mestic as
collaborati
rative profil
estic and i
cks of year
ely higher
2instt.
3instt.
instt. 5i
2002 2003
omesticSingl
omesticcolla
- 102
ut by numb
tic and inter
pers, 440 were written
ell as inter
n in solar P
nternational
is given i
than intern
1in
instt. >5
2004 2005
instpap
pap
r of collabo
national col
ere writtenin internatio
ational coll
V research i
collaborati
table 7. D
tional effo
stt.
instt.
2006 2007
collaborativ
Internation
rating instit
laboration i
in domesticnal collabo
laboration h
n India
n and the
uring 2000
t while du
2008 2009
epap
alcollabpap
tes
Indian sol
collaboratiation. With
ave increas
orrespondi
-04, domest
ring 2005-
ar
nin
d
g
ic
9
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international collaborative effort was relatively higher than domestic effort. So, can we say
globalization of Indian solar PV research is happening slowly?
Table 7: Collaborative activities in Indian solar PV research during 2000-09
Years Domestic International Total Indian output DCI ICI
2000-2004 134 121 617 89 82
2005-2009 306 314 1191 106 110
Total 440 435 1808
Highly collaborative institutes
To find most collaborative institutes, normal counting was used. Taking 2% share of the total
collaborative papers as cut-off, the top collaborating Indian institutes were selected. AI of the
top 10 collaborating institutes indicate that half of them are producing more international
collaborative papers and the other half publishing more domestic collaborative papers (Table
8). So, can we say highly collaborative institutes were more into domestic collaboration (IIT,
Delhi) and less collaborative institutes were inclined more towards international collaboration
(IACS, Kolkata).
Table 8: Collaboration nature of highly collaborative institutes
Institute
Collaboration
TCPDomestic International
TP AI TP AI
Indian Institute of Technology-New Delhi 57 1.1 26 0.9 83
Jai Narain Vyas University-Jodhpur 38 1.3 7 0.4 45
Alagappa University-Karaikudi 23 0.9 18 1.3 41
CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute-
Karaikudi28 1.1 13 0.9 41
Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore 26 1.0 13 1.0 39
Defence Laboratory-Jodhpur 33 1.4 3 0.2 36
Jadavpur University-Kolkata 19 0.8 16 1.3 35
Anna University-Chennai 14 0.7 18 1.6 32
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science-Kolkata 7 0.3 25 2.2 32
CSIR-National Physical Laboratory-New Delhi, 16 0.8 14 1.3 30
TCP: total collaborative papers
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Collaboration with foreign institutes
In solar PV research, India collaborated with 391 foreign institutes belonging to 54 countries.
Some of the most preferred foreign institutes are Hanyang University, South Korea (18),
Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea (18), and Ecole Polytechnique, France (17). At the
country level, India published more collaborative papers with USA (104), followed by South
Korea (78), Japan (47), and others (Fig. 6). Higher number of collaborative papers with some
countries may be an outcome of the increased bilateral/multilateral cooperation for taking up
joint R&D programmes thereby establishing institutional linkages.
Fig 6. Indias leading collaborative countries in solar PV research
Academia-Industry collaboration
In Indian solar PV research, collaborative publication between academia and industry still
seems elusive. Out of total 1808 solar PV papers, industry collaborated in only 112 papers
(Fig. 7). In these 112 academia-industry joint papers, as many as 88 industries (59 Indian and29 foreign) belonging to 15 countries were involved. It is surprising to note the virtual
absence of leading Indian solar PV cells manufactures such as IndoSolar Ltd, Tata BP Solar
India Ltd, Solar Semiconductor Pvt Ltd, and similar others in the publication arena. Low
level of industry participation may be one of the explanations for a less developed Indian
solar PV sector.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
States
SouthKorea
Japan
Germany
UnitedKingdom
France
ItalyMexico
Taiwan
Netherlan
ds
China
Malaysia
Switzerlan
d
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Fig 7. Industry involvement in Indian solar PV research
Concluding Remarks
With the formal launching of the JNNSM in 2010 India conveys the message to the rest of
the world about its intention to exploit the ultimate sources of energy in a massive way. To
achieve the mission objectives, it will be necessary to carry out a lot of R&D activities in
solar energy related areas. This, in turn demands knowledge of the present status of research
in the country as well as the research thrusts and the present study does exactly that.
Though the study has provided some valuable insights into the status and trend of solar PV
research in India, there is a necessity to prepare a comprehensive profile of solar PV R&D
capacity and capability in India. This will be useful in making wise decisions about future
solar PV R&D strategies in the country, more so in view of large-scale ambitious projectslike the JNNSM. Lastly, being an applied area, industry participation in research may be
encouraged by creating suitable policy instruments.
Key References
1. Parthsarathi A., A champion of new technologies.Nature, 2003, 422:17-18.2. REN21, Renewables 2010 Global Status Report (Paris: REN21 Secretariat), 2010, pp. 80.3. Borenstein S., The Market Value and Cost of Solar Photovoltaic Electricity Production. CSEM WP 176,
University of California Energy Institute, 2008, 38 pp.
4. Singh, D. and Jennings, P., The outlook for crystalline silicon technology over the next decade. InRenewable Energy for Sustainable Development(ed. Jennings, et al.), American Institute of Physics, 2007,
pp. 98-110.
5. Goncalves LM, Bermudez VZ, Ribeiro HA and Mendes AM, Dye-sensitized solar cells: A safe bet for thefuture.Energy Environ. Sci., 2008, 1: 655-667.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
No.ofpapers