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Renewable energy can be used from several natural sources, which are capable of wind, sun, water, geothermal springs, or biomass. Energy from these sources is clean, safe and inexhaustible. The use of alternative sources is becoming part of all realistic scenarios and promotes sustainable development and energy security in Europe as well. Renewable energy sources form a relatively significant part of primary energy sources in many countries. Thanks to the undeniable advantages of their use, they form another higher share of combined energy production in Slovakia. In addition, the correct location of renewable energy sources can be a key element in the development of individual regions, which can contribute to achieving better social and economic cohesion in the country. Given these obvious environmental and economic benefits, efficient use of renewable energy sources is receiving increasing attention and support from responsible officials and the general public around the world, including Slovakia. The main goal of this paper was to evaluate the use of renewable resources in Slovakia with a focus on biogas plants. We also evaluate the position of Slovakia within the EU in this area and find out what is the current situation of biogas plants in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogas energy has been introduced into Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) through various incentives after their accession to the European Union in 2004. This paper contributes to an understanding of the determinants, challenges and perspectives of agricultural biogas plants in three CEECs (Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic). Using a combination of quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews) methods, it particularly addresses varieties in public support for biogas sectors, how the relationships between biogas plants as new energy entities and their locations in rural peripheries are constructed, and how the operation of biogas plants influences local rural development. We found that as a result of various agriculture and agricultural policies in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in the second half of the 20th century, the preconditions for the incorporation of agricultural biogas plants into agriculture and rural space generally differ significantly. While in the Czech Republic and Slovakia agricultural biogas plants were usually established within large-scale agricultural farms, in Poland these are rather located off-farm. The most profound challenge for today's biogas plants in all the CEECs studied lies in the transition from direct public incentives to a more self-sufficient business-oriented model focused on cooperation, participation and the involvement of local stakeholders in decision-making, as well as the energy utilization of locally generated agricultural waste and biowaste from households. By accommodation of these principles, agricultural biogas plants in CEECs might become a more useful and sustainable element of the rural energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slovakia committed to the objectives related to the mitigation of climate change's pace. The most important acts include reducing energy consumption and increasing the share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption of the country. Regions are challenged by a fundamental transformation of energy. The main aim of this paper was to evaluate the use of renewable energy sources in Slovakia, as well as the procedural and economic side of support mechanisms allowing progress in the use of renewable energy sources. The secondary aim was to economically assess the impact of support schemes for the effectiveness of investments and make recommendations on renewable energy use for the next period based on an example of a biogas plant in Slovakia. Slovakia has experienced the development of biogas installations after the year 2009. By 2013, Slovak market significantly promoted investments in biogas plants, but in 2014, there was a downturn in the installation of new ones. A database for the analysis was obtained from real data of a specific biogas plant in Slovakia. Results of the analysis declare that financial support mechanisms from the country and the EU are a major determinant in the development of biogas plants in Slovakia with a positive impact on important economic indicators of effectiveness. This process will also support the achievement of the objectives of Target 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]