A systematic review of socio-economic impact assessments of solar energy and photovoltaic (PV) technologies: network dynamics, societal problems and policy implications.

Stimulated by climate change, sustainability concerns have increased the literature on socioeconomic impact assessments of solar energy and Photovoltaic (PV) technologies. PV systems have gained prominence as a key renewable energy source since the 2000s. This paper conducts a bibliometric analysis of this literature and the main objective is to review the existing studies on socioeconomic impacts systematically. For the research design, we adopted a non-traditional review method and used scientometric analysis tools using HistCite and VosViewer programs. According to the findings, there has been a significant increase in publications on the socioeconomic impact assessment of Solar Energy and PV technologies from the 2000s to 2020. The top ten research countries are developed, except for China and India. The findings from the narrative analysis of the most frequently cited articles suggest that public policies and patent structures play a prominent role in improving the social acceptance of solar technologies. The paper highlights the most influential works and authors in the field emphasize their essential findings on solar energy's socioeconomic impact and provides recommendations for future research. The literature of 964 articles reviewed for this paper indicates an emerging bridge between the photovoltaic/solar energy technical research and social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]