In this paper, the development of the wind energy sector in 28 European Union countries in 2017 is described. By means of taxonomic methods—i.e., Ward’s method and the Wroclaw taxonomic methods—clusters of countries similar in terms of their potential and level of development of the wind energy sector in the EU are distinguished. The main purpose of the paper is to separate and cluster EU countries due to the current development potential of the wind energy sector and determinants stimulating the development of this sector. By means of the ranking methods of linear ordering (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution—TOPSIS method), a ranking of EU countries that defines their position in the development of this very important wind energy sector was determined. The results show that the research hypothesis of a great diversity of EU countries considering the development potential of the wind energy sector is justified. The countries of the former European Union, which have focused for a long time on the development of wind energy in their energy policy and have had favorable climate and natural conditions, as well as a large social acceptance of programs supporting the acquisition of energy from renewable sources, have primacy in the development ranking of the energy sector. Additionally, new members of the union, in spite of some delays associated with the development of “green” energy, are trying to increase their energy potential in this area. The research may be extended to include further analyses regarding other renewable energy sources and take into account other European and world countries.
The activity of each construction company in conditions of high competitiveness is exposed to a number of risks that make it difficult to maintain high financial liquidity. In order to provide the continuity of ongoing economic processes and to be able to develop, entities are forced to build optimal financial management strategies for them. Enterprises can choose between a conservative, moderate and aggressive strategy, which is largely determined by the way they manage their current assets and short-term liabilities. In the case of construction companies, it is also not without significance that they are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in the economic situation and changes in the macroeconomic environment, which imply the availability of funds. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the financial liquidity management strategy of construction sector Polish enterprises from the Podkarpackie Province in 2017–2019 and the impact of this strategy on the profitability of the surveyed entities. In order to achieve the goal, the issues related to the classification of financial liquidity and individual liquidity management strategies are discussed. The issues and the goal set determined the choice of research methods. Literature studies, the Mann–Whitney U test, cluster analysis and Ward’s method were used. The research was carried out on a group of the 10 largest construction companies from the Podkarpackie Province. The selection of entities for the research was deliberately based on enterprises that submit their financial statements to the National Court Register. The conducted research showed that small and large enterprises applied different liquidity management policies even though they operate in the same industry and region. The small entities preferred a conservative strategy, while large entities preferred a moderate strategy. The existence of an inverse relationship between the phenomenon of financial liquidity and profitability of economic entities was also confirmed.
Climate change is becoming a global problem. In many countries, actions are taken with the main aim of reducing CO2 emissions. The main action, especially in developed countries, is decarbonization. The European Union has become one of the organizations that plays a leading role in decarbonization of the economy. For this reason, renewable energy sources are being intensively developed in the EU countries. Solar energy with the use of PV installations is developing the fastest. Poland is one of the European leaders in photovoltaic development, and according to estimates for 2021–2025, it will continue to be. The aim of this study was to find out the opinions of people toward actions related to the decarbonization policy in Poland. These opinions were obtained through the prism of respondents’ attitudes toward energy produced by means of PV micro-installations. A questionnaire survey was used in this research. The survey was conducted using the CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) technique. To analyze the results of the study, a Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA test and U–Mann Whitney test were used. Responses were obtained from 633 people. The results obtained from the survey allowed us to draw conclusions, which include the following: (1) a lack of general conviction of respondents about the effectiveness of Poland’s decarbonization policy on reducing global CO2 emissions, especially among those who show a higher willingness to use PV installations, (2) the willingness to use PV installations is motivated by economic rather than environmental benefits, (3) the need for more widespread public campaigns aimed at promoting the benefits of decarbonization and renewable energy sources, and (4) the finding that the respondents’ region of residence (with a different degree of insolation) mattered for the willingness to use PV installations.
Over the past few years, considerable emphasis has been put on decarbonization, which, in the context of the recent events in Europe, proves that mixing energy sources is the best strategy. This article discusses ways in which individual EU member states manage their energy source diversification, while comparing their levels of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources (RESs) usage. The research data was acquired from the Eurostat website and comprises of 15 indicators describing the use of energy both from conventional and renewable sources in the European Union, in 2019. The study employs taxonomical methods, such as ranking and cluster analysis. The authors put forward a hypothesis that EU member states approach the use of energy resources in several ways. There are countries which take advantage of both traditional and renewable sources (Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Italy). However, there is a group of states that relies on a single energy source and exclusively uses either traditional (Poland) or renewable energy resources (Sweden, Finland). The analyses enabled the isolation of country clusters with similar activities and energy strategies.
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