• Energy Research
• 7. Clean energy close
• PL close
• Polish close

The aim of the study was to compare the status and prospects of the development of renewable energy in Poland and Ukraine. The source of the data used in this study were available reports, yearbooks and statistical studies Polish and Ukrainian, and literature on the issue of renewable energy development in these countries. Both in Poland and Ukraine, there is an increase in the production of energy from renewable sources. The share of renewables in the energy balance of Ukraine is much lower than in Poland. A significant problem for the development of renewable energy in Ukraine is the current political and economic situation.

The aim of this article is to present the environmental and economic aspects of the production and use of liquid biofuels of the first generation. To this end it was made analysis of literature. Based on the analysis, it was found that the use of liquid biofuels of the first generation speak both economic aspects (sense of energy security, rural development, increase agricultural income, job creation) and environmental (reduction of extraction of non-renewable resources, reduction of emissions). Unfortunately, you must also take into account the negative economic aspects („land hunger”, the increase in prices of agricultural commodities and food, impoverishment of the population) and ecological (questionable environmental protection, increase the greenhouse effect, monoculture crops, low calorific value) the production and use of liquid biofuels of the first generation.

The carbon accumulated in the wood of the world's forests accounts for 32% of the 1,200 Gt, which includes carbon absorbed by forest ecosystems. In the strategy of terrestrial carbon management, the following main issues are distinguished sequestration, conservation and substitution. Comparative studies show environmental advantages of wood products over the industries producing wood substitutes. To produce 1 tonne of construction wood, approximately 580 kWh of energy is required, while competing materials need much higher energy inputs e.g. bricks – 4 times more than wood; cement – 5 times more, plastic – 6 times more, steel – 24 times more and aluminium – 126 times more energy than wood. Wood also becomes an increasingly more attractive biofuel. The U.S. President announced in 2007 ‘the initiative on modern energy', including the replacement by 2025 of over 75% of U.S. oil imports from the Middle East by biofuels. 80−375 litres of ethanol can be produced from 1 tonne of absolutely dry wood. It is expected that 905 million tonnes of agricultural waste and 334 million tonnes of wood biomass will be available annually by 2030. The cultivation of agro−fuel products can be extended to woodlands generating conflicts in land use and increasing deforestation with the implications for biodiversity, climate change and water. The area previously designed for food production may be allocated for the production of biofuels, which can cause a rise in agricultural product prices and threaten food security. Sylwan 155 (3): 195-201

The paper presents main organizational and economic factors influencing on the variability and costs of preparing agricultural biomass into pellets. Basic on case study there were data collected in the period July 2013 to June 2014. Investigation shows that capacity of plant varied between 509 to 1426 tons per month. The biggest part of processing costs were electricity – 43.8%. Next labour costs – 23.8%, maintenance and repairs – 16.6%, fuel costs-4.6% and depreciation – 11.6%. The cost of processing per one tone was 131 PLN.

The objective of the study was to estimate the number of jobs created by sector of wood biomass used for the energy production. The study presents direct employment (the persons who are employed in the production of wood biomass, its harvesting, industry processing, transport or combustion), indirect employment (the employment in the related sections according to Polish Classification of Activites) and induced employment (the jobs created as a result of purchases of the persons directly employed in the biomass sector). The data used in the analyses were obtained from various official sources and statistics as well as previously published studies. The calculation included the whole area of Poland and focused on the data from the year 2012. The results lead to the conclusion that the direct employment in biomass sector in Poland in the year 2012 amounted 15.6 thousand jobs, of which 5.3 thousand in fuelwood harvesting and using. The indirect employment varied between 19 (by forestry sector) to 25 people (by public utilities sector) per 10 million PLN purchases by biomass sector. In turn, the induced employment amounted to 1.8 thousand employees, of which the largest share was observed for the education services section (29%), the manufactured products (19%), and human health services (17%). Sylwan 160 (10): 805-814

The article highlights the importance of geothermal energy in the dynamics of ice streams of the Warta ice sheet in Middle Poland against the background of other endogenous and exogenous factors. The basis of the presented views are data from literature, analysis of geological data archives and field observation of structures of glaciogenic sediments in Middle Poland. Until recently, the uneven spread of Pleistocene ice sheets in the Polish Lowland, which is resembled in lobes of various sizes, has been interpreted as caused by external factors, mainly the climate characteristics and relief barriers. The author proves that these factors should also include the influence of geothermal heat on the ice. The outline of ice lobes of the Warta ice sheet in Middle Poland and their hanging in the South, as well as activity of the ice streams which had formed them (e.g. their propensity to surge) are examples of dependency of the ice sheet from this stream of geothermal heat. Essential differences between its values occur on both sides of the Tornquist-Teysseyre zone. Higher values of flux heat in the Western European platform fluids compared with Eastern European platform meant that the lobes of the Warta ice sheet grew there much better, fostered by dominance of warm ice regime in considerable areas. Artykuł został opublikowany w "Znane fakty – nowe interpretacje w geologii i geomorfologii" pod red. A. Zielińskiego, Instytut Geografii UJK w Kielcach, s. 49-63.

As the access to the fossil fuels is limited, renewable energy sources have been especially intensively promoted in recent years, namely biomass. A comparatively large amount of biomass can be obtained from forests. This refers to round wood characterized by low technical quality, small−sized wood, and logging residues. Under Polish conditions, the potential amount of logging residues is estimated at 3−5 Mio. m per year, depending on different scenarios of their ulitization. Intense development of technologies for energy acquisition from the forest biomass has provided conditions facilitating the use of logging residues on an industrial scale. One of the possible solutions is bundling. In this process slash is compacted into cylindrical log−like units with diameter of ca. 65−75 cm and length of 2.5−3.0 m. The bundles can be forwarded to the roadside landing with standard forwarders and transported to the terminal or end−user with trucks utilized, first of all, by a round wood hauling. The John Deere slash bundler 1490D was the subject of the study. The basic unit of the bundling device was an eight−wheel forwarder. The study area was located in north−eastern Poland and comprised 10 selected plots. They represent coniferous stands, dominated by Scots pine with various fraction of Norway spruce and scattered birches. The aim of the paper was to estimate the basic technological and economic parameters of the bundling machine, working in clear cuts with two variants of logging residues concentration. In the first variant they were not especially accumulated, evenly distributed over the area. In the other one they were gathered into piles. The structure of a working day, work productivity rates, and the costs were determined. The bundler productivity rate depends largely on the extent the slash is prepared. When it is concentrated in piles, the machine does not have to travel over the entire work area to gather scattered material. In this case, the average productivity was 21.85 bundles/h. In the variant with scattered logging residues, work efficiency equaled 15.19 bundles/h. The hourly cost of the bundler use reached 289.42 PLN. The unit costs were at the level of 52.91 PLN/m (variant 1) and 38.54 PLN/m (variant 2). Sylwan 160 (1): 31-39

Wood obtained from freshly cut trees has a high moisture content and therefore its mass per volume unit is higher than the mass of dry wood. The natural drying is a simple and effective method of weight (moisture content) reduction, making a better use of the vehicle's payload, and thus reducing costs, including environmental costs. The conclusion is based on simulations and analyzes attempting to evaluate different solutions. As evidenced, the drying process of logs depends on numerous factors, which entails attempts at development of an optimal logging method, especially concerning energy wood, allowing for maximum value growth in as little time as possible. The suggestions cover various forms of logging (of whole trees, long timber), arranging (in piles, bundles), storing (in stands, by the roadside near cutting areas), and protection. Combined methods such as storing under canvas for winter only or storing in cutting areas and later in piles at the exit road also work in practice, but require more funds because their cost is determined by the number of stages composing the whole process. In case of wood, development of an optimal and simultaneously universal method used to prepare the lumber for transport and its delivery with consideration of as little environmental impact as possible is complicated. The numerous variables, some of which cannot be controlled or affected, create a considerable scientific problem as well. The authors covered in the presented literature review often stress the role of specific weather conditions accompanying an experiment or its location, the storage method, or lumber dimensions in the drying process. Storage time is perceived as equally important, but it is a derivative more or less determined by the previous variables. Previous studies of drying at the cutting area have been focused mainly on energy wood and less on industrial wood. They analysed the results of long−term storage and did not stress the potential advantages of short−term drying. Furthermore, we do not have sufficient information on species, including forest trees, which have a lower share in the volume of the logged wood. Advanced research can help establish the minimum mass (moisture content) with considerable impact on supply chain effectiveness improvement or evaluated various storing and drying methods. We reviewed reports explaining the impact of various factors on natural drying of wood, models and storage effects, and analyzing potential economic and environmental benefits. Sylwan 161 (11): 898-908

Formulation of new forest policy and its implementation requires the use of past experiences and the enactment of many changes. Modification to the provisions of the 1997 National Forest Policy is necessary, introducing additions and corrections resulting from climate, economic and environmental changes, social expectations and international conditions. Agriculture and energy are the sectors of the economy that currently have the greatest impact on the implementation of forest policy and are particularly important for forestry activities, including the adaptation of forests to climate change. Forests and forest management are currently the victim, not the driving force, of the ongoing climate warming process, and the adaptation of forests to climate change requires coordination of policy solutions. The member states of the European Union do not pursue a common forest policy, whereas the implementation of forestry policy solutions aimed at counteracting negative climate change should be approved and adopted on a global scale. Without such a consensus, local or regional activities – much needed and bringing large, specific environmental benefits – are insufficient. The impact of climate change on the production and income of producers in the forestry and wood products sectors should also be taken into account in policy solutions. It is important to integrate forestry and forestry policy with other sectoral policies, building comprehensive planning processes that apply to entities in various sectors, including solutions for environmental services payments. The main instrument in the policy−making process is the participation of the relevant stakeholders, not a hierarchical management model. Development of solutions in the current situation should take place as soon as possible, while the schedule for achieving goals should be set beyond 2030. The objective of this work is to present the justifications for the introduction of the proposed changes and additions to the current provisions in the policy of the State Forests related to the implementation of the assumptions, objectives and conditions for the development of forestry and forests in our country. Sylwan 164 (7): 539-548

The aim of the study is to evaluate the financing of environmental investments in Poland credited by the Bank of Environmental Protection (BOŚ) in the years 1991-2013. Authors conducted a research relating to the total amount, structure and distribution of resources granted by BOŚ. They indicated directions of financial measures allocation i.e. tasks, projects and achieved ecological effects in the field of environmental protection. A method of deduction was used. Information taken from the theoretical literature as well as legal and normative acts. Empirical data for comparative statistical analysis derived from documents and reports of the BOŚ Department of Ecology and Strategy. In the structure of loans granted by BOŚ in the years 1991-2013, 87% of the investments concerned the protection of the atmosphere, 10% – water conservation and water management, 2.5% – protection of the earth. Most often were used loans with subsidies (in cooperation with National Fund for Environmental Protection & Water Management – 26%), credit lines (23%) or the National Fund payments (21%). In terms of value (16 bln PLN – 40% of measures) dominated commercial investment loans. BOŚ activity in the field of renewable energy sources (RES) relates mainly to loans for the purchase and installation of solar collectors (81% of the contracts, of which 80% were signed in 2011-2013). The largest investments were wind turbines (1.4 bln PLN). Since 1991, 46% of energy from RES obtained in the years 2012-2013. Ecological effects of completed projects include reduction in pollutants’ emission: CO2 – 2.4 mill tons, SO2 – 0.5 mill ton, dust – 139 thous. tons, NOx – 44.5 thous. tons. Financial measures from BOŚ enabled to build wastewater treatment plants (with a capacity of 2.6 mill m3 /day) and sewage network (8.9 thous. km). Neutralized 6.9 mill tones of waste. In the structure of credit debt 31% is represented by RES, 9% refers to energy efficiency and 5% – modernization of technological processes