Exploitation of renewable energy sources for power generation has been more and more important in recent years. This results from the economic issues and the measures taken to ensure the energy security. The aim of this research was to determine the significance of renewable energy sources (RES) in the energy mix of Poland, and to elicit the opinions and the level of knowledge of the society on the use and development of non-conventional energy. The article also presents advantages and disadvantages of types of RES, the obstacles which hinder the progress of green energy in Poland, and the proposed measures to expand the share of the RES in the overall energy mix. The research relied on the statistical data gathered by Statistics Poland. The opinions of respondents were elicited through a diagnostic survey based on a questionnaire. The research has demonstrated that the respondents support the development of RES in Poland. However, they also maintain that the purchase and installation of devices for the production of non-conventional energy are too expensive. The respondents believe that in order to increase the number of green power plants, subsidies to encourage RES investment and tax reliefs related to this investment should be bigger.

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Sustainable development is socioeconomic growth that integrates political, economic, and social measures alongside environmental protection to meet the needs of communities and citizens without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The sustainable development concept was initially based on three main pillars: environment, economy, and society. In successive years, this concept has been expanded to include new pillars. The awareness of these changes has influenced our research interests. The main research objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of geographic information system (GIS) tools (data, tools, and multidimensional analyses) to the implementation of sustainable development principles in rural areas. The study covered rural and nonurbanized areas in Poland, especially farmland, forests, fisheries, and farms. The study presents the results of our research into environmental, economic, and social determinants of growth in the spatial dimension. GIS tools continue to evolve, which improves access to information and increases database managers’ awareness that highly accurate data are needed for spatial analyses. GIS systems allow us to formulate, in a structured and formal way, models that reflect both the current state and forecast changes that will occur in space. It is a very useful tool in the sustainable development of rural areas.

Land is the most important means of production in agriculture. Valuation of agricultural land resources takes into account the acreage and land quality. Changes in the land use structure are stimulated by many factors. It ought to be remembered that the farmland also provide space for purposes other than agriculture or forestry. The paper presents those changes in the land use structure in Poland which took place in the period of 2002–2010. On the basis of the data by the Central Statistical Office [GUS] and its Agricultural Censuses of 2002 and 2010 the authors propose an agricultural holding territorial importance indicator, land location indicator, change indicator for agricultural land turned into non-agricultural land and analyse the total area of agricultural holdings. The major determinants (internal and external factors) of those changes are also described. The aim of the study is to analyse the changes taking place in the Polish agriculture. They were taken into account natural, ecological and urban determinants as well as to the Common Agricultural Policy. The analyses were conducted at the level of voivodships and poviats and were contained agriculture land and non-agriculture land. The area of agricultural land is decreasing as it is being dedicated for other – non-agricultural – purposes, especially for housing purposes.