The impact of renewables on polish energy balance – opportunities and threats for green energy development

The main purpose of the paper is to analyze and assess the past and prospective development of renewables in Poland in current market and under legal, social and economic conditions. To achieve this goal in the first part of the research the structure and changes in Polish energy balance are analyzed in long-term perspective including the years 1965-2015. In the second part of research the relations between particular energy resources are examined and described in the context of present environmental situation in Europe and Poland. Additionally, the research part is preceded by literature and legal acts studies on the possibilities and restriction of using renewable and nonrenewable energy resources in Poland. During research, the dynamics and structure indices are used to evaluate Polish energy balance and its changes in time. Furthermore, to assess the relationships between particular energy sources, trend functions and the coefficients of determination are used. The results show that the changes in Polish energy balance are very slow and the main renewables include: biomass, wind energy and hydro energy. Hard coal remains the dominant energy resource with a share in total energy consumption exceeding 50% – if at all – and it has been replaced by other non-renewables including gas and oil. In the nearest future this may make it impossible for Poland to meet EU environmental requirements. Based on the research conducted, the paper indicates the opportunities and threats for the development of renewables in Poland and presents practical implications for the Polish environmental policy.