The inevitability and successive implementation of the elements of the European Union (EU) energy policy and the freedom of achieving the goals left in this regard for the member states should translate into actions taking the specificity of local markets into account, in order to carry out liberalization processes in a harmonious manner. In 2016, the European Commission published a package of guidance documents “Clean Energy for All Europeans” in the perspective of 2030, also known as the Winter Package. The recommendations contained in some of the documents assume the continuation of integration of markets in the national and regional dimension, setting ambitious targets in the field of decarbonization, the increase of energy efficiency and the increase of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) share in the energy balance of EU countries. The short time to carry out a thorough reconstruction of the energy-generating sector forces to seek solutions that are in line with the European Community recommendations and, at the same time, do not constitute an excessive burden for the national economy and legal order. One of the activities is to use the potential of micro-networks of local communities striving for energy independence based on their own energy sources and to create regulations enabling the neighborly exchange of energy. This mechanism works in the form of pilot projects in many locations around the world (Sonnen Group; Power Ledger). The paper presents the concept of functional and analytical assumptions for an exemplary structure of neighboring prosumers along with the presentation of simulation results based on real generation and consumption profiles and the presentation of investment profitability indicators for the proposed functional model.
Coal is a naturally occurring solid fuel used, among others, for heating and for electricity production. Despite the development of the gas and heating network in our country, as well as the growing interest in the use of renewable energy sources, it still remains the most frequent fuel burned in local sources for the production of thermal energy. The article describes actual heating coal demand in the municipal and residential sector, with the distinction of different assortments, depending on the solid fuel heating source applied. Moreover, a subjective list of factors that have a key impact on the change in heating coal demand for this market was presented, taking the regulatory environment, global trends in housing heating and statistical surveys on the preferences for individual heat sources replacement into account. The confrontation of observed phenomena allowed for possible scenarios of changes in the demand for heating coal with the prospect until 2030, broken down into its individual assortments to be elaborated.