Mapping Solar Photovoltaic Research in India

7/31/2019 Mapping Solar Photovoltaic Research in India

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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


3/13

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

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1.8

1.7

2008 200

dicating la

ting from

he rest we

in Americ

of the tot

published t

IF

2009

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9

k

3

e

n

al

e


4/13

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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

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40

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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

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ds. The ke

las. Of the

red twice.

ide dispari

in nature.

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ent solar

s decreased

nd a-Si ha

n c-Si (Fig.

arch thrust

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lished, it w

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in non-S

ywords we

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while that

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nd correlat

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5/13

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Table 2: Tr

r PV materi

CON

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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

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30

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

No.ofpapers

Mapping Solar Photovoltaic Research in India

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