Development of the Agricultural Biogas Market in Poland – Production Volume, Feedstocks, Activities and Behaviours of Farmers

Abstract

The activity and efficiency of agricultural biogas plants are important issues in the field of low-emission development in rural areas and in agribusiness. The essence of the problems concerns mainly sustainable waste management in agricultural production. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the volume of agricultural biogas production in Poland and the structure of consumption of raw materials used for production of agricultural biogas. The analyses were carried out in the period of 2011–2017. The paper also presents results of empirical research on the agricultural practices as part of the subject area of the development of the agricultural biogas market in Poland. The aim of the questionnaire surveys of agricultural holdings was to obtain information on the use of the biomass from field crops and grasslands for energy purposes and the interest in the development of agricultural production towards the cultivation of energy crops. The results of the analyses were presented in the spatial arrangement of research.