Abstract
This article presents how selected factors related to forest biomass affect enterprise development in rural areas. The study used a multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), as well as the AHP operational research method. The following factors were selected for analysis: conifer timber harvesting, sales of renewable fuel in the form of briquettes to selected customers, and the number of the given company’s regular customers. Their selection was determined by the fact that using plant material for energy purposes has become significantly more popular in recent years. This particularly includes forest biomass, which is increasingly used as an energy commodity in the Polish heating industry. Forest biomass is a biodegradable raw material generated in the form of waste during wood production and processing, as well as during sanitation cutting. The study was conducted using a diagnostic survey method with a survey questionnaire in the first quarter of 2020. It included 614 owners of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in various rural areas across all of Poland’s voivodeships. The study was conducted using the CATI method. Analyses defining the dependence of specific factors on the examined parameters and supporting the priority nature of the given actions may show the development of particular pro-ecological actions in a given area. In one case, the critical level of significance determining the assignment of the analyzed factor to a specific homogeneous group was below 0.05. This means that there was a correlation between the sales of renewable fuel in the form of briquettes to selected customers and the number of enterprises in the voivodeship. Therefore, due to the sales of renewable fuel in the form of briquettes to selected customers, the greatest development prospects for wood industry companies existed in the Małopolskie, Mazowieckie, Śląskie and Wielkopolskie Voivodeships.
Highlights
In recent years, there have been many improvements in the heating and power industry thanks to innovative green solutions [1]
The following factors were selected for the analysis: conifer timber harvesting, sales of renewable fuel in the form of briquettes to selected customers, and the number of the given company’s regular customers
The results of the analysis made it possible to determine how coniferous timber harvesting, sales of renewable fuel in the form of briquettes to selected customers, and the number of regular enterprise customers affect the number of wood processing enterprises
Summary
There have been many improvements in the heating and power industry thanks to innovative green solutions [1] This is due to the obligation to adapt the national energy policies to the targets of the European Union (EU). In the era of a fuel crisis, global sanctions, ever-increasing energy demand, and climate disruption, bioenergy is the most prominent and fastest-growing economic direction [3]. Bioenergy development makes it possible to use renewable raw materials as an alternative fuel, creating local competitiveness and enabling independence from other countries [4].
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