In this paper the results of studies of polymeric binders on the example of the new BioCo2 binder, including the problem of its renewability, are presented. The results of structural studies (FT-IR) for the BioCo2 binder before and after crosslinking, and bending strength tests Rg u fresh and renewed cured molding sands with BioCo2 binder are discussed. The cross-linking binder and curring of moulding sand was carried out by physical agents (microwave radiation, temperature). On the basis of obtained results was shown that it is possible to restore the initial properties of the adhesive of BioCo2 binder. The initial properties of moulding sand can be achieved, after the cross-linking binders and after curing in the moulding sands with bioCo2 binder , by supplementing the moulding sand composition by the appropriate amount of water.

The paper presents an analysis of the influence of the energy generated from renewable sources on an improvement in the energy efficiency of public utility building and households. It also presents the current state of the technologies for the production of electricity from renewable sources, as well as their share in the national power supply system. The conducted analysis concerns both micro, as well as large systems generating electricity. Systems generating power from renewable sources are gaining in popularity. With an increasing awareness in the society of the beneficial influence that renewable power generating systems have on the environment, as well as the support in form of various programs offering subsidies for the construction of new systems, power generation from renewable sources is becoming increasingly popular and common. Although the renewable energy systems are still not widely considered to be a profitable solution, systems using renewable sources of energy are positively perceived and treated as a new trend in the construction of multi or single-family residential buildings. The increasing share of the renewable energy in the national power supply system significantly reduces the demand for energy produced from conventional sources. This obviously translates into a reduced consumption of primary energy, for example, fossil fuels, and, in turn, leads to the reduced exploitation of natural resources, thus contributing to the protection of the natural environment. A reduced consumption of fossil fuels also means a significant reduction in environmental pollution during their processing into electricity or heat. Actions aiming at improving energy efficiency and reducing final energy consumption are being undertaken by many countries all over the world, and by the European Union. In 2012, the European Parliament and the Council issued Directive 2012/27/EU obliging the Member States to initiate actions aiming at a reduction in the consumption of final energy by 1.5% a year. The paper presents the current status of generation of energy from renewable sources during the last 13 years. The ways for using energy from the renewable sources to improve the energy efficiency of facilities were also discussed.

There are many financial ways to intensify the construction of new renewable energy sources installations, among others: feed in tariff, grants. An example of photovoltaic grant support in Poland is the “Mój Prąd” [My Electricity] program created in 2019. This program, with a budget of PLN 1 billion, is intended for households in which installations with a capacity range of 2–10 kWp have been installed. During its first edition 27,187 application were submitted. Over 98% of installations cost less than PLN 6,000/kWp. The total installed capacity is 151.3 MWp, which gives the average amount of co-funding per unit of power at the level of PLN 884.7/kWp. The average power of the installation on the national scale is 5.57 kWp, the indicator per 1000 inhabitants is 3.94 kWp, and per unit of area is 0.484 kWp/km2. These installations will produce around 143.5 GWh of electricity annually, contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions by approximately 109,800 Mg per year. Most applications came from the Silesian Province (3855), which translated into the largest installed capacity of 21.82 MWp, as well as 4.81 kWp/1000 inhabitants and 1.77 kWp/km2 (over 3 times higher than the average in Poland). The installed capacity in the individual province was closely correlated with the population of the province (correlation coefficient – 0.95), while the installed capacity indicator per 1,000 inhabitants with insolation (0.80). The highest power ratio per 1000 inhabitants was achieved in the Podkarpackie Province and amounted to 5.05, and the lowest in the West Pomeranian Province (2.41).

The energy efficiency of photovoltaic modules is one of the most important aspects in energetic and economic aspects of the project related to system installations. The efficiency of modules and the electricity produced by photovoltaic conversion in solar modules is affected by many factors, both internal, related to the module structure itself and its technical and external factors related to the energy infrastructure, which includes: cabling, inverters, climate conditions prevailing at the micro-installation location and the orientation and angle of inclination of the solar modules. The installation of photovoltaic modules should be preceded by an energy efficiency analysis, which will help to indicate the optimal solution adapted to the given conditions. The article presents a comparative analysis of the amount of energy produced under real and simulated conditions. Analyzes were made on the basis of research carried out in the Wind and Solar Energy Laboratory located at the AGH University of Science and Technology, data from solar irradiation data-bases and computer software for estimating energy resources. The study examined the correlation of the solar irradiation on the modules and the amount of electricity generated in the photovoltaic module. The electricity produced by the module was compared under real conditions and simulated based on two sources of data. The comparison and analysis of the amount of energy of the module were also made, taking simulated different angles of the module’s inclination into account.

The aim of the article is to discuss and assess the diversification of renewable energy sources consumption in European Union member states. The time scope covers 2005 and 2015. The data comes from Eurostat. The analysis was based on synthetic indicators – using a non-standard method. Synthetic indicators were assessed based on three simple features such as: the share of renewable energy in energy consumption in 2015, the difference between the share of renewable energy in energy consumption in 2015 and in 2005 (in percentage points), deficit/surplus in the 2020 target reached in 2015 (in percentage points). The European Union member states were divided into four diversified group in terms of renewable energy sources consumption (first class – a very high level, second class – quite a high level, third class – quite a low level, fourth class – a very low level). Then the divided groups were analyzed according to the share of renewable energy sources in the primary production of renewable energy and the consumption of individual renewable energy sources. During the research period renewable energy consumption increased in the European Union, but individual member states are characterized by a diverse situation. The type of energy used depends largely on national resources. The countries of Northern Europe are characterized by a greater share of renewable energy sources in consumption. Biomass is the most popular renewable source of energy in the European Union. Depending on the conditions of individual countries – it is agricultural and forest biomass.

Formation the local identity in the “thematic” Rural Renewal, The article aims to determine the main conditions for the development of rural thematic areas in the context of Rural Renewal. Against this background, the authors attempt to explain the mechanisms governing the discussed process and their effects. In view of the above, the focus was on presenting mechanisms for the development of processes that lead to the flowering of this idea (an anatomy of success – the case of the village of Sierakowo Sławieńskie) and those that slow down or completely limit this development (anatomy of failure – the case of the village of Lubcza).

The future and development of energy is one of the most important problems in both domestic and global politics. Limiting the use of fossil fuels in the energy sector results from new legal conditions related to the protection of the natural environment. These changes require the development of a new energy strategy, taking the limits of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union and the requirements of the Community energy policy into account. One of the documents affecting the structure of Poland’s energy mix is the Directive on renewable energy sources (2009/28/EC). Poland has committed to achieving the goal of a 15% share of energy from renewable sources (RES) in gross final energy consumption by 2020. Current changes in Polish RES support systems – in particular the transition from the system of green certificates to auctions for green energy – may threaten the achievement of the above-mentioned goal. The article analyzes whether Poland will meet renewable energy obligations by 2020 under the current conditions. In addition, the article presents current energy consumption in the world and in the country, legal conditions taken into account when creating the country’s energy mix and forecasts of renewable energy demand.

In spite of technological, logistic and economic difficulties, interest in renewable energy sources in the world is consistently increasing. This trend is also observed in Poland, mainly due to the urgent need to tackle the problem of climate change, which is caused by the increasing concentration of gaseous pollutants in the atmosphere. The paper presents a short script of the issue of estimating renewable energy resources in Poland in the context of creating local low carbon economy plans at the level of municipalities/counties where RES sources should be taken into account. The author proposed an individual approach to estimate the potential of RES, taking the local conditions and the short characteristics of the small and medium companies sector in Poland into account. These companies have a great application potential to increase the share of renewable energies and to improve energy efficiency in their business. The actions, which are taken by the Ministry of Energy in the field of civil energy development, enhancing local energy security and the sustainable development of renewable energy resources support the development of energy clusters covering one district or five municipalities. In the article, the author presents data on the number of companies possessing a concession for generating electricity in RES installations in the power range from 40 kW to 200 kW. These companies can largely be the nucleus for creating a local cluster in which microgrids will be a key element.

Renewable energy development is crucial for resolving global warming issues and achieving

sustainable development goals. The objective of this paper is to reveal renewable energy trends

using statistical data to identify the most developed technologies in the field, their distribution by

territory, checking the interrelation between investments in R&D and patent activity.

The changes in total investments made in renewables are studied for 2004–2019 and the increasing

trend has been observed with some fluctuations in certain years, major current investments in solar

and wind energy are detected. The dynamics of international patenting activity in solar and wind

technologies, geothermal and fuel cells, the total number of PCT applications over the past 10 years

by geographic region are considered. The results show some differences across various renewable

technologies. Solar is the most patented, wind and fuel cells are less patented but solar and wind

have shown an uptrend for the last five years, while fuel cell technologies showed a decline after

2008. Geothermal is the least patented.

The comparison between investment and patent application trends in renewables undercovers some

important issues – the leading role of Japan in patenting under the PCT procedure, while China is

a major investor in renewable energy; the US and Europe with big investments in renewables are

also leading in patent registration.

Correlation between investment in R&D and patenting activity in the field of global renewable

energy should be emphasized (correlation coefficient R = 0,849 for 2002–2019). Since private

and public investment is strongly stimulated by domestic renewable energy policies, IP indicators

can help identify policy instruments and their effectiveness within the further research

framework.

The primary aim of this paper was to assess the development of prosumer energy sector in Poland. In the first point, the basic notions connected with prosumer energy (micro-installation, prosumer) were discussed on the basis of Law of Renewable Energy Sources of February 20, 2015 (Journal of Laws, item 478, as amended) and the main aspects of the European Union energy policy where presented in the context of the development of the prosumer energy sector. In this part of the study, numerous benefits for the Polish economy and consumers of electrical energy, connected with the expansion of prosumer energy sector, were presented. On the other hand, many obstacles which stall this sector in Poland were noticed. In the second point the most important regulations from the Law of Renewable Energy Sources of February 20, 2015 were analyzed (In the second point the most important regulations from the Law of Renewable Energy Sources of February 20, 2015 (hereinafter: the RES act) were analyzed). On the basis of this legal act, the so called “rebate system”, which is currently used in Poland to support prosumers of electrical energy, was described. Moreover, many legal and administrative simplifications implemented by the RES act were indicated. The analytical approach to the RES Act in this study resulted in the detection of many regulations in this legal act which may have an adverse impact on the development of the prosumer energy sector in Poland. In the third point, programs co-financed by the Polish government or the European Union, which financially support the purchase and installation of energy technologies using RES, were described. Statistical data connected with the prosumer energy sector in Poland was presented in the fourth point of this paper. On the basis thereof, the authors attempted to find the correlation between the number of prosumers and the share of the amount of electrical energy from renewable energy sources in gross electrical energy consumption. In the fifth point issues connected with energy technologies used in the Polish prosumer energy sector were discussed. Moreover, this point focuses on the great popularity of photovoltaic modules among Polish prosumers and results in the reluctance of Polish prosumers to install wind microturbines and small hydroelectric power plants.

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.

The agrarian process includes many industrial phenomena and events. The goal of economics as a science is to precisely detect and describe the relationships between various market mechanisms. These phenomena can be presented as the desire “to describe reality in terms of systems, their components and relationships, both between components of the system and between different systems” (Jankowski 1997). The energy sector is a special field among many areas of the national economy, and the products of this sector have a major impact on the branches of the economy and the mechanisms of action occurring in them. The publication is devoted to the construction of a mathematical model used to support the energy policy of local government units. The aim of the study is to build a mathematical model of energy production, taking the development potential of renewable energy into account, as well as to propose the desired direction of energy policy development in the analyzed periods to the regional authorities and to offer a model for creating an energy policy in other local government units: poviats, communes. Until now, few authors have comprehensively dealt with this issue. To date, no detailed research has been published on issues related to renewable energy development and the use of mathematical methods in the construction of the energy production model in local government units. The undertaken research is a contribution to the development of knowledge about alternative energy sources in the energy margin.

The constant increase in the popularity of renewable energy systems allows residential building users to apply solutions leading to the diversification of the energy supply. The use of RES systems in residential buildings not only contributes to a higher level of environmental care, but also significantly and measurably improves the energy efficiency of the facility. Using hybrid systems allows the supply to be reduced or eliminated from conventional energy sources. The article presents common layouts of renewable energy systems, which are successfully used in residential buildings. It also shows the impact of such systems on the amount of savings achieved in the use of energy from external or conventional sources. In residential buildings, the possibility of energy generation in the form of electricity and heat is dependent on many factors that determine the type and size of the systems used to obtain energy from renewable sources. We should assume the further and continuous development of RES, which will increase the share of electricity and heat produced in households. Technological development, decreasing prices of equipment and components used for the installation of green electricity generation systems will be a conducive factor for increasing the popularity of RES systems, not only for residential buildings but also for other types of buildings. The article also points out the economic aspect of the RES systems application. It presents the positive impact of RES installations on the environment and estimates the average time of financial reimbursement. The economic analysis concerns individual systems of renewable energy systems used in residential buildings.