Comparison of Renewable Energy Sources in ‘New’ EU Member States in the Context of National Energy Transformations

Agnieszka Wałachowska and Aranka Ignasiak-Szulc
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Agnieszka Wałachowska: Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdansk University of Technology, Gabriela Narutowicza 11/12 St., 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Aranka Ignasiak-Szulc: Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Gagarina 11, 87-100 Toruń, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-17

Abstract: The European Union strives to create sustainable, low-carbon economies; therefore, energy policies of all member states should move towards renewable energy sources (RES). That concerns also the so-called new EU member states. These countries, on the one hand, are characterized by significant historical similarities in terms of post-communist legacy and adopted development strategies linked with the EU membership, and on the other hand, by significant social, economic and environmental differences resulting from different transformation and development paths and conditions. The question remains how the selected countries should cope with actions in the field of national energy transformations to confront the multiple challenges linked to assuring a significant level of sustainable development. In order to be successful, it is necessary to conduct an effective and rapid changes in the energy industry, which should be preceded by an analysis of the differentiation of countries in terms of their potentials. The results of such analyses should be helpful in selecting the most appropriate strategies for transformation of the described industry. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to assess the new EU member states for RES diversification and identify similar subgroups of countries using cluster analysis, taking into account the percentage share of individual renewable energy sources in total renewable energy production. This was done for the years 2010, 2015 and 2019 which should allow us to demonstrate the differences between them as a group and also reveal changes recorded over time for a single country. Ward’s method was used for the analysis. The presented approach to the analysis of energy production enabled the acquisition of new knowledge in this field and supported the assessment of the current state of RES. The results obtained can be used in countries of comparable specificity to undertake activities of similar nature in relation to internal energy production, technological development or common energy policy.

Keywords: renewable energy sources (RES); energy transformation; the new EU member states; cluster analysis; Ward’s method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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