Outline of the economic and technical problems associated with the co-combustion of biomass in Poland

The paper presents the economic and technical problems associated with the use of biomass in co-combustion processes in the energy sector in Poland. The particular attention was paid to the extent of the use of biomass in the energy sector, the technologies and techniques applied, as well as the economic determinants. As it results from the analyses, the co-combustion of biomass in Poland is a predominant direction in the "green" energy production. Co-combustion processes are carried out mainly with the use of direct combustion technologies in the largest entities operating in the energy market. The widespread use of biomass in the Polish energy sector results in specific problems, such as those associated with the prices of green certificates and the import of biomass. Currently, the Polish renewable energy sector is developing as intended. However, the validity of the funds spending, which aimed at supporting renewable energy sources (RES), may raise some doubts. This results from insufficient monitoring of the amount of energy produced on the basis of renewable sources, which in 2012 led to over-production of the RES-based energy and, consequently, to a significant decrease in prices of green certificates.