J 2016

Where AD plants wildly grow: The spatio-temporal diffusion of agricultural biogas production in the Czech Republic

MARTINÁT, Stanislav, Josef NAVRÁTIL, Petr DVOŘÁK, Dan VAN DEN HORST, Petr KLUSÁČEK et. al.

Basic information

Original name

Where AD plants wildly grow: The spatio-temporal diffusion of agricultural biogas production in the Czech Republic

Authors

MARTINÁT, Stanislav, Josef NAVRÁTIL, Petr DVOŘÁK, Dan VAN DEN HORST, Petr KLUSÁČEK, Josef KUNC and Bohumil FRANTÁL

Edition

Renewable energy, Amsterdam, Elsevier, 2016, 0960-1481

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

Earth magnetism, geodesy, geography

Country of publisher

Netherlands

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

Impact factor

Impact factor: 4.357

Organization unit

Faculty of Economics and Administration

DOI

UT WoS

000377311000009

Keywords in English

Agricultural anaerobic digestion plants; Czech Republic; Spatial determinants; Spatial analysis

Tags

International impact, Reviewed
Změněno: 10/11/2016 16:51, doc. RNDr. Josef Kunc, Ph.D.

Abstract

V originále

There is fundamental agreement about the environmental benefits of renewable energy technologies, but unintended consequences arising from their deployment are frequent sources of conflicts. The Czech Republic has committed itself to supply 13.5% of its electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020. High state incentives for renewable energies have been provided to achieve this target, however critical questions can be asked about the appropriateness of the design of the supporting frameworkswhich caused a boom in photo-voltaic (PV) installations on agricultural land, as well as a boom in the installation of agricultural anaerobic digestion (AD) plants fuelled by dedicated energy crops. This paper analyses the diffusion of agricultural AD plants in the Czech Republic, focusing especially on locational characteristics in relation to the quality of agricultural land, agricultural and population census data. Statistical analysis of those spatial datasets show that agricultural AD plants are mostly located in less favourable agricultural areas, in regions having recently experienced a reduction in cattle breeding, and in regions with significant increases of sowing areas of green maize. These findings suggests shortcomings in the supporting policy for AD plants in the Czech Republic, resulting in unintended environmental consequences, and missed opportunities to enhance energy self-sufficiency and resilience in the countryside.