Renewable energy sources

Renewable energy sources (RES) include a range of raw materials and technologies; the main objective of their use is to replace fossil (non-renewable) resources, mainly coal, oil and natural gas. A typical representative of RES is electricity production in hydroelectric, wind and solar power stations. However, a no less important source of energy is the use of agricultural materials, either intentionally grown or waste products. In practice this primarily concerns the direct combustion of biomass, the production and use of biogas and the application of liquid biofuels as a substitute for fossil fuels in the transport sector.

The concept of biomass is the unifying concept for all matter of organic origin, which has a wide range of properties. It includes dendromass (wood biomass), phytomass (plant biomass) and biomass of animal origin. One source of biomass is also biodegradable wastes, those being pure or separated from other components (for example, agricultural manure or sorted biodegradable industrial and municipal waste).

The use of biomass for energy is being encountered increasingly often. New technologies allow the conversion of waste, residual or deliberately cultivated mass into energy in the form of heat, electricity or to power engines. Biomass is becoming an ever more important commodity for farmers, foresters, as well as for communities, regions and property owners, i.e. for energy consumers. Biomass has a fairly wide range of forms as concerns the type of biofuels and the possibility of their use. The main areas of using biomass energy are the use of solid biomass for direct burning for heat and electricity, biogas and liquid biofuels. In addition, the non-energy use of biomass material also plays a significant role.

In order to indicate the options for the use of biomass energy, to set appropriate support mechanisms and determine the direction of developing technologies for the use of biomass, the Ministry of Agriculture prepared the Action Plan for Biomass in the CR for the 2012–2020 period (hereinafter the “APB”). The main objectives of the APB include determining the quantified energy potential of agricultural and forestry dendromass and the quantification of the amount of energy that can be realistically produced from biomass in the CR up to 2020.