Those energy sources are called renewable ones which can be used constantly through natural processes, or the ones which are re-produced in nature. Currently the most important ones are: sun-, wind-, geothermic-, tide- energy, marine waves, the energy created by the temperature change of the seas, hydro-energy, biomass-energy and the energy created by energy forests.

The causes why renewable energy sources have been spreading are the following:

Globally:

• The shortage of fossil energy carriers.
• Environmental protection has become very important.
• The possibility of using the side-products formed during the production processes.

At national and regional levels:

• The replacement of import energy.
• Sustainable economical development with respect to environmental protection.
• Keeping commitments of signed international agreements.
• Relieving the national energy supply system.
• Reducing unemployment.
• The more efficient use of local energy sources.
• The development of infrastructure.
• The development of companies.
• Obtaining EU sources.

At the level of companies and citizens:

• The wider use of the produced goods.
• Decreasing the cost of energy.
• Increasing their income and economical efficiency.

However there are several factors which are against the spread of the concerned renewable energy:

• The relatively high costs of required investments.
• The low costs of some fossil energy carriers.
• Low energy density.
• High costs of transport and storage.
• The lack of consumers’ supporting habits and political support.
• Problems of changing the attitude towards the new processes both at the consumers’ and the decision-makers’ level.

Geo-thermal energy

In Hungary the support of renewable energy sources has became a major part of the energy politics in the last few years. Hungary also signed the document approved in Kyoto at the COP-3 conference in December, 1997 concerning the restriction of greenhouses gases’ emission, according to which the country will decrease its CO2-emission by 6 % in the period between 2008 and 2012, compared to the numbers of the 1985-87 period.

The current technologies are not yet able to totally replace the traditional energy sources with renewable ones, but they can decrease the use of traditional ones and the environmental damages of those.

Biogas-plant

The aims of the European Union’s energy politics include the increase of the current average of 5,3 % of renewable energy use up to 12 % by 2010, and the electricity produced using renewable energy up to 22,1 %. In Hungary the ratio of renewable energy within our total energy use is only 3,6 % now, which is very low. 72,5 % of the country’s renewable energy use comes from firewood. Geo-thermal energy provides 10,3 %; hydro-energy gives 1,9 %; plant and other wastes supply 10,9 %, and the used solar energy gives 0,15 % into the total. 2,75 % comes from dumps’ biogas, biogas from sewage and from communal trash burning.

Körös-Maros Regional Development and Organic Farming Foundation is committed to the creation and strengthening of the conditions needed for sustainable development.