What can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change? A Case Study from the Czech Republic
Facilities for generating renewable energy form important elements in the rural landscape of the Czech Republic. The distribution of these facilities is highly uneven due to various natural and socio-economic factors. In our paper, we are focusing our attention on one of the important facilities f...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | ces |
| Published: |
University of South Bohemia
2018-04-01
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| Series: | DETUROPE |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.deturope.eu/file_download.php?type=2&item=206 |
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| Summary: | Facilities for generating renewable energy form important elements in the rural landscape of the Czech
Republic. The distribution of these facilities is highly uneven due to various natural and socio-economic
factors. In our paper, we are focusing our attention on one of the important facilities for the generation of
renewable energy in the Czech Republic; anaerobic digestion (AD) plants. In 2016, more than five
hundred AD plants could be found in the country with a total installed capacity of 360 MW. By means of
analyses of data on location of individual AD plants, quality of soils, size of agricultural farms (in which
majority of AD plants is incorporated) we found that agricultural AD plants in the Czech Republic tend to
concentrate in areas with larger agricultural farms and also in areas with average and slightly below
average conditions for agricultural activities. Core areas where agricultural AD plants are the most
densely located were also identified. In these areas, large farms with AD plants tend to crowd out smaller
farms. Pressure to grow maize for ADs significantly competes here with growing of other agricultural
crops for food. This finding is in strong contradiction with the official national agricultural policy where
support for small farms is systematically emphasized. Core areas with AD plants make a belt that mostly
covers sub-mountainous central parts of the Czech Republic where traditional agricultural plants are now
significantly being displaced by maize to feed AD plants. |
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| ISSN: | 1821-2506 |