RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AS A DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR PERIPHERAL AREAS

Subject and purpose of work: The subject of this analysis and evaluation is the use of renewable energy sources in Poland, particularly in the Lubelskie Voivodeship, as a peripheral region. The purpose of this paper is to identify the role and evaluate the scale and effects of using renewable energy sources (RES), as well as the availability and absorption of financial resources for RES promotion. Materials and methods: The data were obtained from the Office of the Ruda-Huta Commune, the Regional Operational Programme Department of the Marshal Office of the Lubelskie Voivodeship in Lublin and the Department of European Funds of the Ministry of Energy, as well as Statistics Poland (GUS) and the literature on the subject. Results: In Poland the proportion of energy from renewable sources to the total primary energy generated increased in 2012-2018 from 11.73% to 14.46%. A new phenomenon, which has been highly significant for the development of this sector, is the use of innovative, small-scale technologies of energy generation from renewable sources, which created the foundations for the growth of a citizens’ energy sector, based on the initiative of the citizens and their communities. The use of RES contributes to reduced expenditures on the purchase of energy carriers and constitutes an effective method of implementing plans for developing a low-carbon economy and reducing low-stack emissions. Conclusions: The continuing disparities between the regions point to the need for active structural intervention to maintain economic, social and territorial cohesion, particularly in areas which are considered peripheral and have a very low GDP per capita. One of the preferred directions should be to support the use of RES