The Role of Agriculture and Rural Areas in the Development of Autonomous Energy Regions in Poland

Abstract

In many countries, energy security is treated as a priority for the coming decades, and at the same time energy production from the vast majority conventional energy sources does not meet environmental protection criteria. Hence, the need to use renewable energy sources (RES), which can largely satisfy energy needs. The aim of the study was to identify possibilities of creating autonomous energy regions (ARE) in Poland, based on renewable energy sources. Attention was paid to the role and significance of the potential of rural areas in this respect, taking into account the possibilities of increasing energy production from these sources in individual regions of Poland. The research was conducted on a regional level (division into voivodships) and on a local level (division into powiats, which form voivodships). When assessing the potential for constructing ARE based on RES, the following energy sources were taken into account: water, wind, sun, biogas and biomass. It was found that the highest RES potential versus energy consumption can be obtained in powiats where the share of arable land and forests exceeds 80%. The research showed that in most regions of Poland (powiats, voivodships), there is a large potential for obtaining additional energy from RES, which would cover over 73% of the country’s demand for electricity. This could be the basis for building energy independence on a local scale. The results of the study indicated that as many as seven regions would become self-sufficient in terms of electricity demand.

Polish Cittaslow Local Governments’ Support for Renewable Energy Deployment vs. Slow City Concept

“…The importance of this resource in the development of slow municipalities can be discussed, for example, in relation to the tourist offer, building sustainable transport infrastructure or improving the quality of life [87][88][89]. It is worth noting that the diversification of the used energy sources is an element of building energy security [90]. Increasing the implementation of tasks related to renewable energy deployment by Cittaslow municipalities can mean lower energy purchase costs.…”

Information Model for Sustainable Rural Development

“…The actual research in the area of sustainable development covers the issues of multifunctional development [8], smart specialization in regional development [9,10], socioeconomic heterogeneity of rural areas [11], rural landscape conservation [12,13], socioeconomic and spatial resilience [14][15][16][17], new tools for ensuring rural sustainability [18], socio-socioeconomic and spatial resilience [14][15][16][17], new tools for ensuring rural sustainability [18], socio-economic transformation [19,20], spatio-temporal modelling [21,22], studies on environmental, economic, and social determinants [23][24][25][26][27], and modelling peri-urban areas [28][29][30][31]. The most recent studies on the subject of rural development are aimed at determining the sustainability factors at varied levels of land use planning.…”

Evaluation Model for Sustainable Development of Settlement System

“…The development issues of settlement systems are of great relevance for solving land-use planning problems for European region and beyond. The most relevant urban and regional planning research publications related to this field of knowledge are focused on conservation of rural landscapes under urban expansion [1][2][3], spatial and socioeconomic resilience of rural areas [4][5][6], introduction of new instruments for sustainable rural development [7], economic transformation in rural areas [8,9], spatial temporal development [10][11][12], environmental and economic aspects [13,14], social and demographic criteria [15][16][17], land use planning [18,19], historical and cultural features [20][21][22][23], ecosystem studies [24,25], changes in rural settlement system [26,27], and modeling periurban areas [28][29][30].…”