The results of the paper are based on a research project which examines the renewable energy investments carried out in Hungarian rural settlements. The study will focus on the municipality-led renewable energy developments, determining the most important local benefits and the aspects of the local community involvement. Altogether 748 rural settlements have been identified, which have implemented at least one renewable energy project through the Environmental and Energy Operative Program between 2007 and 2013. A questionnaire has been sent out to these municipalities, and 159 full answers have been collected and analysed. We have investigated the importance and presence of local benefits deriving from renewable energy investments, and examined what effort is put into the information and involvement of the local community. The study concludes that although several local benefits occur at local level while implementing renewable energy projects, the effect of direct benefits remain at a low level. Furthermore, it can also be stated, that only moderate effort is put into the issue of local community involvement. The study also determines several major threats that can endanger the successfulness of the previous investments, and prevent the further renewable energy developments at local level.
Taking into account the possible future exhaustion of fossil energy sources, the actual and near danger of climate change, the drastic increase of the greenhouse gases in the last 200 years, as well as the growing need for sustainable development, consumption and liveable environment, the increasing necessity of renewable energy sources becomes clear. Utilization of these energy sources have to acquire a bigger role in the field of energy supply, in order to enhance the energy security of Hungary, to decline the energy import dependence, to reduce the negative environmental impacts, and to recover the economy. The world’s hunger for energy is growing exponentially; this is why it is crucial to establish feasibility scenarios in the next decades, which are able to meet these expectations, and to increase the safety of the energy supply.
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