Development limitations and perspectives of renewable energy sources in Poland

Because of deteriorating condition of the environment and more and more difficult situation on the market of energy fuels, the role of renewable energy sources is increasing. In the paper an analysis was performed on the development limitations and perspectives of renewable energy sources on the Polish market. The analysis conducted shows that the renewable energy sources start to be used in a bigger scale in Poland. It may also be noticed that the significance of the particular renewable energy sources is dynamically changing in time. In year 2005 hydropower was largely dominating among the renewable energy sources, however, in 2016 wind power was clearly prevailing. One of the most important factors determining the development of renewable energy sources in Poland are legal conditions. They were subject to analysis, taking into account the European Union regulations and Polish regulations. The research was based on literature review, analysis of legal regulations and of data coming from the reports and statistics published by the Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Environment, Energy Regulatory Office, Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, and other organizations.