Recently, there has been an increase in research on wireless sensor networks (WSNs) because they are easy to deploy in applications such as internet-of-things (IoT) and body area networks. However, WSNs have constraints in terms of power, quality-of-service (QoS), computation, and others. To overcome the power constraint issues, wireless energy harvesting has been introduced into WSNs, the application of which has been the focus of many studies. Additionally, to improve system performance in terms of achievable rate, cooperative networks are also being explored in WSNs. We present a review on current research in the area of energy harvesting in WSNs, specifically on the application of simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) in a cooperative sensor network. In addition, we discuss possible future extensions of SWIPT and cooperative networks in WSNs.