IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i10p2765-d552754.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Renewable Energy Attitudes and Behaviour of Local Governments in Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Joanna Rakowska

    (Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Irena Ozimek

    (Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

The deployment of renewable energy at the local level can contribute significantly to mitigating climate change, improving energy security and increasing social, economic and environmental benefits. In many countries local authorities play an important role in the local development, but renewable energy deployment is not an obligatory task for them. Hence there are two research questions: (1) Do local governments think investments in renewable energy (RE) are urgent and affordable within the local budgets? (2) How do they react to the public aid co-financing investments in renewable energy? To provide the answer we performed qualitative analysis and non-parametric tests of data from a survey of 252 local authorities, analysis of 292 strategies of local development and datasets of 1170 renewable energy projects co-financed by EU funds under operational programs 2007–2013 and 2014–2020 in Poland. Findings showed that local authorities’ attitudes were rather careful, caused by financial constraints of local budgets and the scope of obligatory tasks, which made renewable energy investments not the most urgent. Public aid was a factor significantly affecting local authorities’ behavior. It triggered local authorities’ renewable energy initiatives, increasing the number and scope of renewable energy investments as well cooperation with other municipalities and local communities. Despite this general trend, there were also considerable regional differences in local authorities’ renewable energy behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Joanna Rakowska & Irena Ozimek, 2021. "Renewable Energy Attitudes and Behaviour of Local Governments in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:10:p:2765-:d:552754
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2765/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2765/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Negro, Simona O. & Alkemade, Floortje & Hekkert, Marko P., 2012. "Why does renewable energy diffuse so slowly? A review of innovation system problems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3836-3846.
    2. Shirley, Rebekah & Kammen, Daniel, 2013. "Renewable energy sector development in the Caribbean: Current trends and lessons from history," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 244-252.
    3. Michalena, Evanthie & Angeon, Valrie, 2009. "Local challenges in the promotion of renewable energy sources: The case of Crete," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 2018-2026, May.
    4. Klessmann, Corinna & Held, Anne & Rathmann, Max & Ragwitz, Mario, 2011. "Status and perspectives of renewable energy policy and deployment in the European Union—What is needed to reach the 2020 targets?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7637-7657.
    5. Mathiesen, Brian Vad & Lund, Henrik & Karlsson, Kenneth, 2011. "100% Renewable energy systems, climate mitigation and economic growth," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 488-501, February.
    6. McKenna, R. & Bertsch, V. & Mainzer, K. & Fichtner, W., 2018. "Combining local preferences with multi-criteria decision analysis and linear optimization to develop feasible energy concepts in small communities," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 1092-1110.
    7. Azarova, Valeriya & Cohen, Jed & Friedl, Christina & Reichl, Johannes, 2019. "Designing local renewable energy communities to increase social acceptance: Evidence from a choice experiment in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1176-1183.
    8. Engelken, Maximilian & Römer, Benedikt & Drescher, Marcus & Welpe, Isabell, 2016. "Transforming the energy system: Why municipalities strive for energy self-sufficiency," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 365-377.
    9. Peidong, Zhang & Yanli, Yang & jin, Shi & Yonghong, Zheng & Lisheng, Wang & Xinrong, Li, 2009. "Opportunities and challenges for renewable energy policy in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 439-449, February.
    10. Prados, María-José, 2010. "Renewable energy policy and landscape management in Andalusia, Spain: The facts," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6900-6909, November.
    11. Poggi, Francesca & Firmino, Ana & Amado, Miguel, 2018. "Planning renewable energy in rural areas: Impacts on occupation and land use," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 630-640.
    12. Stokes, Leah C., 2013. "The politics of renewable energy policies: The case of feed-in tariffs in Ontario, Canada," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 490-500.
    13. Sperling, Karl & Hvelplund, Frede & Mathiesen, Brian Vad, 2011. "Centralisation and decentralisation in strategic municipal energy planning in Denmark," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1338-1351, March.
    14. Alonso, Patricia Martínez & Hewitt, Richard & Pacheco, Jaime Díaz & Bermejo, Lara Román & Jiménez, Verónica Hernández & Guillén, Jara Vicente & Bressers, Hans & de Boer, Cheryl, 2016. "Losing the roadmap: Renewable energy paralysis in Spain and its implications for the EU low carbon economy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 680-694.
    15. Nepal, Rabindra, 2012. "Roles and potentials of renewable energy in less-developed economies: The case of Nepal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 2200-2206.
    16. Estitxu Villamor & Ortzi Akizu-Gardoki & Olatz Azurza & Leire Urkidi & Alvaro Campos-Celador & Izaro Basurko & Iñaki Barcena Hinojal, 2020. "European Cities in the Energy Transition: A Preliminary Analysis of 27 Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-25, March.
    17. Cansino, José M. & Pablo-Romero, María del P. & Román, Rocío & Yñiguez, Rocío, 2011. "Promoting renewable energy sources for heating and cooling in EU-27 countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3803-3812, June.
    18. Lowitzsch, J. & Hoicka, C.E. & van Tulder, F.J., 2020. "Renewable energy communities under the 2019 European Clean Energy Package – Governance model for the energy clusters of the future?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    19. Comodi, Gabriele & Cioccolanti, Luca & Polonara, Fabio & Brandoni, Caterina, 2012. "Local authorities in the context of energy and climate policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 737-748.
    20. Terrados, J. & Almonacid, G. & Hontoria, L., 2007. "Regional energy planning through SWOT analysis and strategic planning tools.: Impact on renewables development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 11(6), pages 1275-1287, August.
    21. Thellufsen, Jakob Zinck & Lund, Henrik, 2016. "Roles of local and national energy systems in the integration of renewable energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 419-429.
    22. Boon, Frank Pieter & Dieperink, Carel, 2014. "Local civil society based renewable energy organisations in the Netherlands: Exploring the factors that stimulate their emergence and development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 297-307.
    23. Rakowska, Joanna, 2020. "European Union Regional Policy Support For Investments In Renewable Energy In Rural Areas Of The Mazovian Voivodship," Roczniki (Annals), Polish Association of Agricultural Economists and Agribusiness - Stowarzyszenie Ekonomistow Rolnictwa e Agrobiznesu (SERiA), vol. 2020(1).
    24. United Nations, 2016. "The Sustainable Development Goals 2016," Working Papers id:11456, eSocialSciences.
    25. Konstantinos Karanasios & Paul Parker, 2018. "Explaining the Diffusion of Renewable Electricity Technologies in Canadian Remote Indigenous Communities through the Technological Innovation System Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-28, October.
    26. Helm, Dieter, 2014. "The European framework for energy and climate policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 29-35.
    27. Creutzig, Felix & Goldschmidt, Jan Christoph & Lehmann, Paul & Schmid, Eva & von Blücher, Felix & Breyer, Christian & Fernandez, Blanca & Jakob, Michael & Knopf, Brigitte & Lohrey, Steffen & Susca, Ti, 2014. "Catching two European birds with one renewable stone: Mitigating climate change and Eurozone crisis by an energy transition," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1015-1028.
    28. Elaine Fouché & Alan Brent, 2019. "Journey towards Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development at the Local Government Level: The Case of Hessequa Municipality in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, January.
    29. Van Hoesen, John & Letendre, Steven, 2010. "Evaluating potential renewable energy resources in Poultney, Vermont: A GIS-based approach to supporting rural community energy planning," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 2114-2122.
    30. Tagliapietra, Simone & Zachmann, Georg & Edenhofer, Ottmar & Glachant, Jean-Michel & Linares, Pedro & Loeschel, Andreas, 2019. "The European union energy transition: Key priorities for the next five years," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 950-954.
    31. Schneider, Daniel R. & Duić, Neven & Bogdan, Željko, 2007. "Mapping the potential for decentralized energy generation based on renewable energy sources in the Republic of Croatia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1731-1744.
    32. St. Denis, Genevieve & Parker, Paul, 2009. "Community energy planning in Canada: The role of renewable energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(8), pages 2088-2095, October.
    33. Blok, Kornelis, 2006. "Renewable energy policies in the European Union," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 251-255, February.
    34. Veum, Karina & Bauknecht, Dierk, 2019. "How to reach the EU renewables target by 2030? An analysis of the governance framework," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 299-307.
    35. del Río, Pablo & Burguillo, Mercedes, 2009. "An empirical analysis of the impact of renewable energy deployment on local sustainability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(6-7), pages 1314-1325, August.
    36. Fiaschi, Daniele & Bandinelli, Romeo & Conti, Silvia, 2012. "A case study for energy issues of public buildings and utilities in a small municipality: Investigation of possible improvements and integration with renewables," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 101-114.
    37. Müller, Matthias Otto & Stämpfli, Adrian & Dold, Ursula & Hammer, Thomas, 2011. "Energy autarky: A conceptual framework for sustainable regional development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 5800-5810, October.
    38. Stokes, Leah C. & Breetz, Hanna L., 2018. "Politics in the U.S. energy transition: Case studies of solar, wind, biofuels and electric vehicles policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 76-86.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Haji Bashi, Mazaher & De Tommasi, Luciano & Le Cam, Andreea & Relaño, Lorena Sánchez & Lyons, Padraig & Mundó, Joana & Pandelieva-Dimova, Ivanka & Schapp, Henrik & Loth-Babut, Karolina & Egger, Christ, 2023. "A review and mapping exercise of energy community regulatory challenges in European member states based on a survey of collective energy actors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    2. Kozera, Agnieszka & Satoła, Łukasz & Standar, Aldona & Dworakowska-Raj, Małgorzata, 2022. "Regional diversity of low-carbon investment support from EU funds in the 2014–2020 financial perspective based on the example of Polish municipalities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    3. Ryszard Kata & Rafał Pitera, 2023. "Local Authority Investments in the Field of Energy Transition and Their Determinants (on the Example of South-Eastern Poland)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-20, January.
    4. Daniel Zbroński & Henryk Otwinowski & Aleksandra Górecka-Zbrońska & Dariusz Urbaniak & Tomasz Wyleciał, 2023. "Analysis of Changes in Electricity Generation from Renewable Energy Sources after Poland’s Accession to Structures of the European Union," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-16, June.
    5. Iuliana Petronela Gârdan & Adrian Micu & Carmen Adina Paștiu & Angela Eliza Micu & Daniel Adrian Gârdan, 2023. "Consumers’ Attitude towards Renewable Energy in the Context of the Energy Crisis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-31, January.
    6. Niki Derlukiewicz & Anna Mempel-Śnieżyk & Tomasz Pilewicz & Małgorzata Godlewska, 2021. "Bottom-Up Initiatives Undertaken by Local Governments to Support Entrepreneurship," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, October.
    7. Krzysztof Bartczak, 2021. "Digital Technology Platforms as an Innovative Tool for the Implementation of Renewable Energy Sources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.
    8. Leila Aghlimoghadam & Sadegh Salehi & Hans-Liudger Dienel, 2022. "A Contribution to Social Acceptance of PV in an Oil-Rich Country: Reflections on Governmental Organisations in Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-23, October.
    9. Joanna Rakowska & Mariusz Maciejczak & Iwona M. Batyk & Eliza Farelnik, 2022. "Rural–Urban Differences in Solar Renewable Energy Investments Supported by Public Finance in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-19, November.
    10. Ryszard Kata & Kazimierz Cyran & Sławomir Dybka & Małgorzata Lechwar & Rafał Pitera, 2022. "The Role of Local Government in Implementing Renewable Energy Sources in Households (Podkarpacie Case Study)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, April.
    11. Razmjoo, Armin & Mirjalili, Seyedali & Aliehyaei, Mehdi & Østergaard, Poul Alberg & Ahmadi, Abolfazl & Majidi Nezhad, Meysam, 2022. "Development of smart energy systems for communities: technologies, policies and applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Joanna Rakowska & Mariusz Maciejczak & Iwona M. Batyk & Eliza Farelnik, 2022. "Rural–Urban Differences in Solar Renewable Energy Investments Supported by Public Finance in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Ryszard Kata & Rafał Pitera, 2023. "Local Authority Investments in the Field of Energy Transition and Their Determinants (on the Example of South-Eastern Poland)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-20, January.
    3. Ryszard Kata & Kazimierz Cyran & Sławomir Dybka & Małgorzata Lechwar & Rafał Pitera, 2022. "The Role of Local Government in Implementing Renewable Energy Sources in Households (Podkarpacie Case Study)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, April.
    4. Estitxu Villamor & Ortzi Akizu-Gardoki & Olatz Azurza & Leire Urkidi & Alvaro Campos-Celador & Izaro Basurko & Iñaki Barcena Hinojal, 2020. "European Cities in the Energy Transition: A Preliminary Analysis of 27 Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-25, March.
    5. Østergaard, P.A. & Lund, H. & Thellufsen, J.Z. & Sorknæs, P. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2022. "Review and validation of EnergyPLAN," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    6. Furmankiewicz, Marek & Hewitt, Richard J. & Kazak, Jan K., 2021. "Can rural stakeholders drive the low-carbon transition? Analysis of climate-related activities planned in local development strategies in Poland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    7. Calvert, K. & Pearce, J.M. & Mabee, W.E., 2013. "Toward renewable energy geo-information infrastructures: Applications of GIScience and remote sensing that build institutional capacity," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 416-429.
    8. Thomas Hoppe & Antonia Graf & Beau Warbroek & Imke Lammers & Isabella Lepping, 2015. "Local Governments Supporting Local Energy Initiatives: Lessons from the Best Practices of Saerbeck (Germany) and Lochem (The Netherlands)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-32, February.
    9. Weinand, Jann Michael & Scheller, Fabian & McKenna, Russell, 2020. "Reviewing energy system modelling of decentralized energy autonomy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    10. Ekhi Atutxa & Imanol Zubero & Iñigo Calvo-Sotomayor, 2020. "Scalability of Low Carbon Energy Communities in Spain: An Empiric Approach from the Renewed Commons Paradigm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-23, September.
    11. Bogdan Klepacki & Barbara Kusto & Piotr Bórawski & Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska & Konrad Michalski & Aleksandra Perkowska & Tomasz Rokicki, 2021. "Investments in Renewable Energy Sources in Basic Units of Local Government in Rural Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, May.
    12. Olatz Azurza-Zubizarreta & Izaro Basurko-PerezdeArenaza & Eñaut Zelarain & Estitxu Villamor & Ortzi Akizu-Gardoki & Unai Villena-Camarero & Alvaro Campos-Celador & Iñaki Barcena-Hinojal, 2021. "Urban Energy Transitions in Europe, towards Low-Socio-Environmental Impact Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-29, October.
    13. Antoine Boche & Clément Foucher & Luiz Fernando Lavado Villa, 2022. "Understanding Microgrid Sustainability: A Systemic and Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-29, April.
    14. Klein, Sharon J.W. & Coffey, Stephanie, 2016. "Building a sustainable energy future, one community at a time," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 867-880.
    15. Konstantinos Karanasios & Paul Parker, 2018. "Explaining the Diffusion of Renewable Electricity Technologies in Canadian Remote Indigenous Communities through the Technological Innovation System Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-28, October.
    16. Sperling, K. & Arler, F., 2020. "Local government innovation in the energy sector: A study of key actors’ strategies and arguments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    17. Haji Bashi, Mazaher & De Tommasi, Luciano & Le Cam, Andreea & Relaño, Lorena Sánchez & Lyons, Padraig & Mundó, Joana & Pandelieva-Dimova, Ivanka & Schapp, Henrik & Loth-Babut, Karolina & Egger, Christ, 2023. "A review and mapping exercise of energy community regulatory challenges in European member states based on a survey of collective energy actors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    18. Avri Eitan & Gillad Rosen & Lior Herman & Itay Fishhendler, 2020. "Renewable Energy Entrepreneurs: A Conceptual Framework," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-23, May.
    19. McGookin, Connor & Ó Gallachóir, Brian & Byrne, Edmond, 2021. "An innovative approach for estimating energy demand and supply to inform local energy transitions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    20. Bačeković, Ivan & Østergaard, Poul Alberg, 2018. "Local smart energy systems and cross-system integration," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 812-825.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:10:p:2765-:d:552754. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.