Estimation of planting efficiency and energetic willow exploitation in the middle part of Poland

Along with the Poland accession to the European Union, the strict environmental protection standards have been introduced. It forces the farmers to change the existing methods of heat energy obtainment from traditional materials into environmental friendly ones. One of the many methods that Poland has applied in order to gain the "green" energy is planting of energy crops such as Salix viminalis willow. This plant is widely considered to be the most useful for biomass production. Willow is a common species in our country, however, not long ago it has not been regarded as a renewable energy source. Only in the past decade, an interest in this matter has grown significantly. This paper presents the analysis of the plantation establishment costs, its further exploitation and comparison of the profits from biomass sale which reflects the planting profitability. It has been stated that the highest incomes can be obtained from biomass sale and its replacement of the traditional energy resources. The most efficient willow planting occurs on the moist soils with the possibly high bonitation class.