Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Title	Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Discipline	Energy studies
Abbreviation	RSE Reviews
Publisher	Elsevier
Country	United Kingdom
Frequency	Monthly
History	1997–present
Impact	17.880 (2021)

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews is a peer-reviewed academic journal focusing on research, reviews, and syntheses in the fields of renewable energy and sustainability. It publishes comprehensive review articles that integrate findings from engineering, environmental science, policy analysis, and economics to inform researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. The journal serves as a nexus connecting work associated with institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, Tsinghua University, Stanford University, and Technical University of Denmark.

Overview and Scope

The journal emphasizes interdisciplinary reviews that survey literature across domains represented by National Renewable Energy Laboratory, International Energy Agency, European Commission, World Bank, and United Nations Environment Programme. Topics commonly intersect research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Fraunhofer Society, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, ENEA (Italy), and CSIRO. Reviews often draw on major projects and programs including Horizon Europe, United States Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, German Energiewende, UK Research and Innovation, and China Renewable Energy Program to contextualize technical advances within institutional frameworks. Contributions synthesize advances related to technologies developed at Tesla, Inc., Siemens, Vestas Wind Systems, General Electric, and Ørsted while addressing deployment case studies from California Energy Commission, Bureau of Land Management, China National Energy Administration, Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

History and Development

Founded in the late 1990s, the journal emerged amid growing international attention driven by milestones like the Kyoto Protocol negotiations and reports from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Its establishment coincided with research scaling at centers such as Delft University of Technology, University of Cambridge, University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, and University of Tokyo. Early editorial stewardship involved scholars connected to National Academy of Sciences, Royal Society, Academia Sinica, and Max Planck Society. Over successive editorial terms, the journal expanded thematic coverage to include breakthroughs reported from Bell Labs, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and to reflect major events such as Paris Agreement deliberations and the outcomes of COP26.

Publication and Editorial Practices

The journal follows peer-review protocols aligned with guidelines from organizations like Committee on Publication Ethics, CrossRef, and DOI Foundation. Editorial decisions draw on advisory boards composed of researchers affiliated with University College London, Oxford University, Columbia University, Yale University, and University of Melbourne. Manuscripts are solicited as invited reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, and are frequently commissioned following symposia at venues including World Renewable Energy Congress, International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications, IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, and American Geophysical Union sessions. Special issues have been organized in collaboration with entities such as European Academies Science Advisory Council, National Science Foundation, Royal Academy of Engineering, and Asian Development Bank.

Impact and Metrics

Citation and impact metrics reflect influence across multiple sectors; the journal is indexed in databases run by Clarivate Analytics, Scopus (Elsevier), PubMed Central, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Its articles are frequently cited alongside reports from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Renewable Energy Agency, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and World Health Organization. Reviews inform guidelines and white papers produced by European Investment Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, International Monetary Fund, G7, and G20. Bibliometric analyses often compare the journal’s performance with titles from publishers such as Springer Nature, Wiley-Blackwell, Taylor & Francis, and Cambridge University Press.

Key Topics Covered

Core thematic areas include solar photovoltaics, wind energy, bioenergy, and energy storage with ties to innovations reported by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, and SpaceX where relevant. Other frequent subjects include grid integration, smart grids, and demand response connected to initiatives by California Independent System Operator, National Grid plc, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, PJM Interconnection, and ENTSO-E. The journal addresses lifecycle assessment and sustainability assessment used by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Wageningen, INRAE, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, and Center for International Climate and Environmental Research. Policy and socioeconomic analyses reference work from OECD, World Bank Group, International Labour Organization, United Nations Development Programme, and Global Environment Facility. Case studies span installations and pilots in regions governed by European Union, United States Department of Energy, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (India), Brazilian National Development Bank, and South African Department of Energy.

Criticisms and Controversies

Critiques of the journal have mirrored debates in the broader field, including disputes over industry-funded research linked to corporations like BP, Shell plc, TotalEnergies, and ExxonMobil and concerns raised in forums such as The Lancet and Nature Energy. Questions about editorial bias, reproducibility, and transparency have been discussed in the context of guidelines from Committee on Publication Ethics and investigations by panels associated with House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and parliamentary science committees in United Kingdom, European Parliament, and United States Congress. Debates also relate to the role of academic publishing conglomerates such as Elsevier and their pricing and access policies, which have been critiqued by consortia including SCOAP3 and Project DEAL.

Category:Energy journals