Bibliometric analysis of research on renewable energy crowdfunding: An assessment and policy implications

Crowdfunding is a new form of financial intermediation that has been used to fund renewable energy projects. However, research on the significance and evolution of renewable energy crowdfunding is scarce. The present paper provides a bibliometric analysis of the existing academic work on renewable energy crowdfunding. We identify three main clusters of publications: (1) renewable energy crowdfunding as an innovative solution to the technological and financial barriers to the deployment of renewable energy, (2) the success factors of crowdfunded renewable energy technologies, and (3) the links among the private actors involved in the energy transition. We show that the literature on renewable energy crowdfunding overlooks public interventions. We suggest that the state support crowdfunding to promote the development of renewable energy projects, and we discuss state interventions and the role of the state in regulation and investment.JEL classification: D14, Q28, Q48.