Abstract
Energy obtained from renewable sources is an important element of the sustainable development strategy of the European Union and its member states. The aim of this research is, therefore, to assess the potential and use of renewable energy sources and their effectiveness from the regional perspective in Poland. The research covered the years 2012 and 2018. The diversification of production and potential of renewable energy sources was defined on the basis of biogas and biomass. Calculations made using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method showed that, in 2012, only three voivodeships achieved the highest efficiency in terms of the use of biogas and biomass resources; in 2018, this number increased to four. Comparing the effective units in 2012 and 2018, it can be seen that their efficiency frontier moved upwards by 56% in terms of biogas and 21% in terms of to biomass. Despite a large relative increase in the production of heat from biogas by 99% compared to the production of heat from biomass by 38%, the efficiency frontier for biogas did not change considerably. It was found that the resources of solid biomass are used far more intensively than the resources of biogas. However, in the case of biogas, a significant increase in the utilization of the production potential was observed: from 3.3% in 2012 to 6.4% in 2018, whereas in the same years, the utilization of solid biomass production potential remained at the same level (15.3% in 2012, 15.4% in 2018). It was also observed that, at the level of voivodeships, the utilization of biogas and biomass production potential is negatively correlated with the size of this potential. The combined potential of solid biomass and biogas can cover the demand of each of the studied regions in Poland in terms of thermal energy. The coverage ranges from 104% to 1402%. The results show that when comparing biomass and biogas, the production of both electricity and heat was dominated by solid biomass. Its high share occurred especially in voivodeships characterized by a high share of forest area and a low potential for biogas production (Lubuskie Voivodeship, Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship).
Highlights
The main aim of the research is to look for answers to the fundamental question regarding the potential of and resources required for use of biomass and biogas in Poland and the effectiveness of their use, the calculation of which was carried out using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method, widely used in the field of environmental and energy economics [44,45,46,47]
Regional Differentiation of Biomass and Biogas Potential in Poland In Poland, and in particular in voivodeships with a large share of the agricultural economy, an upward trend in electricity consumption has been observed for several years
It was significantly differentiated regionally (Table 1), which is justified due to the different potential of the resources used for its production. This applies, for example, to organic waste in landfills, animal and vegetable waste on farms, or to the structures and sizes of farms, as indicated by Waset al. [29]. This applies both to the production of biomass and biogas, which are analyzed in this paper
Summary
Due to the development of civilization, more and more energy resources are necessary to satisfy basic social needs as well as production. Lack of integration in resource assessment and policy making leads to inconsistent strategies and inefficient use of resources [1]. Fossil fuels play a dominant role in global energy systems [2], according to Arıoğlu et al [3], renewable energy sources are becoming the fastest growing energy source in the world. As pointed out by Moomaw et al [4], 85% of the primary energy used by global economies comes from fossil fuels.
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