Green energy, climate and society

Gergely, Sándor – Magda, Sándor

Keywords: green energy, energy resources, heating, woody energy plantation, employment

Green energy (biomass energy) can be derived from primary, secondary and tertiary biomass. First, forest by-products and waste then plantations of ligneous plants and herbaceous crops have to be used to generate green energy. In Hungary, the annual amount of forest and crop by-products and waste is between 4.9 and 5.7 million tons, which is 40 – 50 % more than the amount of firewood produced a year. Replacing natural gas heating with locally grown and/or produced green energy resources is economical nowadays, especially in cases where heat generation from green energy resources is carried out with the help of local and/or regional logistic centres. The environmental impact of heating based on green energy resources under controlled circumstances is only a fraction of the impact of using fossil energy resources. Energy wood plantations even have beneficial effects on soil, water and air, while their impact on biodiversity is not so obvious. One of 599 the prominent social effects of the production and utilization of green energy resources is a large boost to employment.

Full article