Energy Self-Subsistence of Agriculture in EU Countries

Abstract

The paper’s main purpose was to identify the level and factors influencing the consumption of bioenergy of agricultural origin in agriculture in EU countries. All EU countries were deliberately selected for research, as of 31 December 2018. The research period covered the years 2004 to 2018. The sources of materials were the subject literature, Eurostat data, and IEA (International Energy Agency) data. The following methods were used for the analysis and presentation of materials: descriptive, tabular, graphical, Gini concentration coefficient, Lorenz concentration curve, descriptive statistics, Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. In the EU, there was a high level of concentration of renewable energy consumption in several countries. There was also no change in the use of bioenergy of agricultural origin in agriculture, but the concentration level was low. The degree of concentration has not changed for both parameters of renewable energy over a dozen or so years, which proves a similar pace of development of the use of renewable energy sources in individual EU countries. Higher consumption of bioenergy of agricultural origin in agriculture was shown to occur in economically developed countries, but with high agricultural production. There was a strong correlation between the consumption of bioenergy of agricultural origin in agriculture for the entire EU and individual economic parameters in the field of energy and agriculture. The relations were positive for all economic parameters, for total renewables and biofuels consumption and for agricultural production parameters. Negative relations concerned the total energy consumption and parameters related to the area of agricultural crops.