Forestry and timber harvesting in Poland

ABSTRACT: The renewable energy industry has recently gathered momentum due to green awareness, the need to diversify energy sources and the rise in oil and gas prices. In many ways, the Polish biomass industry has greater potential than others new EU members (post-2004). Poland’s size, as well as its large population – the sixth largest in Europe – has attracted the attention of investors. Furthermore, the country’s agricultural characteristics, high dependence on foreign sources of energy, as well as its abundant use of polluting energy sources such as coal, make Poland the perfect place to invest in the biomass industry. This research analyses the potential of the Polish biomass industry via the case of Bobolice, a town in Northern Poland. The study claims that companies wishing to evaluate potential projects will raise the project’s chances of success if they operate in areas where the population is larger than 4500 inhabitants, in areas where heating is consumed annually for about 7 months and where there is a variety of facilities, other than homes, which require heating.

KEYWORDS: Biomass, renewable energy, investment, Poland, environment