The development of energy production from renewable sources includes the production of energy from photovoltaic installations by prosumers. In Europe, RES development is driven by political goals and requires subsidies during the deployment period, at least as long as the cost of renewable electricity does not reaches grid parity. The study attempts to determine the importance of factors in the development of energy production by prosumers from PV installations in Polish regions. In 2019, the ‘Moj Prad’ program was introduced, applying subsidies to investment costs and the settlement of energy production in the net-metering system. Almost 900 thousand prosumer PV installations were built by the end of 2021, with a total capacity of 5.9 GW. Solar energy share grew from 0.1 to 2.1%. Spatial econometrics models were use in research to determine factors of prosumer PV systems development in Poland (at NUTS-2). Spatial regimes were found in the studied regions, as indicated by a positive autocorrelation (0.75). Considering the pseudo-R-square co-efficient, we can conclude that the spatial error, i.e., factors not included in the GNS model, constitutes approximately 10%. The economic variables included in the Mansky model, i.e., level of salaries and GDP, explain 90% of the variability of installed PV capacity (Nagelkerke pseudo-R-squared value is 0.906). The level of development of prosumer photovoltaic installations (in W per capita) in regions depends primarily on economic factors represented by the level of salaries in a given region. With the increase in salaries by one unit, we also have an increase in installed power capacity in watts per person by 3.52. Surprisingly, the region’s overall wealth did not matter, as the relative number of installations in regions with lower GDP was higher than in others. One can explain that the individual income of households is more important for increasing the number of prosumer installations than the income of the regional economy. The increase in the number of installations in one region contributed to the subsequent increase in their number in neighboring regions.

Energy is a key driver of all modern economies. Sustainable development is playing an increasingly important role both at regional and local levels. It is a compromise between social and economic needs and the preservation of nature. In the policy of the European Union, the idea of sustainable development and environmental protection is of decisive importance for the implemented programs and economic activities. Contemporary challenges require the transformation of the energy market towards greater use of renewable sources. According to Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and European Council on promoting energy from renewable sources, Poland has committed itself to achieving a 23% share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2030. This goal considers total energy consumption in terms of power, engineering, heating, refrigeration, and transport. The aim of this paper was, firstly, an analysis of the share of renewable energy in the European Union over an 18-year period (2004–2021), with particular emphasis on the position of Poland. The second objective was the analysis of renewable energy at the local level in Poland, i.e., at the local government unit (LAU) level. Changes in the share of renewable energy in Poland compared to other European countries were also examined. The study utilized functional analysis of principal components and cluster analysis based on the data from the Central Statistical Office and EUROSTAT. The study found that while Poland does not differ significantly from other countries in using renewable energy, it does fall below the European average. Principal component analysis suggests that Poland responds adequately to European changes in the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption. This dynamic is stable (over 95% explained by the first component) and applies to most countries surveyed. In addition, the authors sought to answer questions relating to the current status of renewable energy sources in Poland, the barriers and challenges facing the introduction of renewable energy in the country, a comparative analysis of Poland’s progress in renewable energy with other global counterparts, and an exploration of the future prospects and potential for the development of renewable energy in Poland. The study found that the potential for renewable energy is greatest in the northern areas of Poland, with photovoltaics and wind power plants providing the greatest capacity. Poland’s renewable energy potential is very high and will be determined by technological development, political, economic, and social issues.

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie regionalnego zróżnicowania natężenia wykorzystania środków w ramach działań wspólnej polityki rolnej (WPR) przeznaczanych na modernizację gospodarstw rolniczych. Badaniami objęto okres 2004-2009. Użyto dane ARiMR dotyczące realizacji poszczególnych działań oraz dane GUS. W badaniach wykorzystano takie wskaźniki, jak: liczba wniosków na 1000 gospodarstw, wartość wsparcia na 1 gospodarstwo i na 1 ha użytków rolnych. Dla podziału województw na grupy wykorzystano metodę analizy skupień. Stwierdzono, że występują znaczne różnice w wykorzystaniu środków. Najsłabsze ich wykorzystanie miało miejsce w 7 województwach na południu Polski, najwyższe zaś w województwach kujawsko-pomorskim i wielkopolskim. Podstawowym czynnikiem związanym z niskim wykorzystaniem dotacji na modernizację gospodarstw była mała powierzchnia gospodarstw. Środki na modernizację gospodarstw pozyskiwane były głównie przez rolników z gospodarstw większych obszarowo, a więc w województwach o wyższej przeciętnej powierzchni gospodarstwa. Środki te w małym stopniu pozwalały na przyśpieszanie przemian w strukturze agrarnej w regionach z dominacją drobnych gospodarstw rolnych.

The objective of the paper is to examine the changes in the level of diversification of the labour productivity in the European Union countries in the years 1998-2015, and then to determine whether there is any convergence of the labour productivity among these countries. The labour productivity has been calculated as a relation of the gross value added at constant prices per one full-time employee. The study used the Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) and the Agricultural Labour Input (ALI). The study covered the European Union countries, broken down by the countries of the „old” EU (EU-15) and the countries admitted to the EU after 2004. In order to determine the changes occurring in these countries, sigma-convergence (σ) and beta-convergence (β) have been used. The study shows that after 2011 there was a process of convergence among the EU countries in terms of the labour productivity in agriculture.

Celem pracy jest określenie zmian przestrzennego zróżnicowania wykorzystania środków na modernizację gospodarstw rolnych w Polsce w ramach Programu Rozwoju Obszarów Wiejskich na lata 2007–2013 i 2014–2020. Analizą objęto okres 2007–2018. Wykorzystano dane ARiMR, GUS i Eurostat. Do oceny zmian zróżnicowania przestrzennego użyto wskaźnik autokorelacji przestrzennej Morana (Ig). Stwierdzono, że w okresie realizacji PROW 2014–2020 nastąpiły zmiany w przestrzennym rozkładzie wykorzystania dotacji na wsparcie inwestycji w gospodarstwach rolnych w stosunku do lat 2007–2013. Obserwowano wzrost intensywności wykorzystania środków na inwestycje w województwach, w których występowały duże gospodarstwa rolne, a ograniczenie aktywności w korzystaniu z tego działania w województwach z rozdrobnionym rolnictwem. Może to oznaczać, że w małych gospodarstwach nie jest generowana wystarczająca nadwyżka potrzebna do współfinansowania inwestycji rozwojowych. Działania ukierunkowane na wsparcie modernizacji gospodarstw w ramach PROW sprzyjają przede wszystkim rozwojowi gospodarstw silnych ekonomicznie.