Regional planning for renewable energy sources – new approach

The energy market paradigm shift towards the so called “green revolution” assumes that in the next few decades dispersed energy sources will replace centralized generation systems. Despite growing energy related spatial conflicts, already accompanying the development of dispersed generation, it is not clear how to integrate new energy infrastructure into planning procedures. This article presents a new approach at the regional level, by unveiling the technology diffusion theory and its implications for the development planning of renewable energy sources (RES). It suggests how to integrate energy related issues into regional spatial policy, by presenting prospects for agricultural biogas plants (ABPs) in the Lubelskie region, Poland; dwelling on the experiences from a best practice region Lower Saxony, Germany