Biogas production in Poland—Current state, potential and perspectives

A history and actually problems of polish energetics were presented. The location and power rating of biogas installations in Poland have been described. The technical potential of biogas in Poland from various substrates is as follows: 82 million m3 from municipal waste, 20 million m3 from sewage sludge, 1603 million m3 from animal droppings, 551 million m3 from maize and 254 million m3 from grass. In total, 39.44PJ of energy could be obtained from biogas. Utilisation of biogas potential would result in meeting energy demand by 7.5%. In comparison to the coal energy sector in Poland, the biogas energy sector generates considerably lower external costs and also enjoys more support from local communities, the substrate resources for methane fermentation are available in every region of the country. Despite many challenges, power co-generation from biogas is becoming increasingly more significant in Poland. In recent years the number of agricultural biogas power plans has increased the most. The development of agricultural biogas power plants will, at least to some degree, reduce unemployment in rural areas, including the east of Poland.