Energy and climate policies benefit from modernized construction technology and energy supply source choices. Energy-efficiency improvement and CO2 emission reduction will result from renewable energy (RE) utilization in new and retrofit single-family houses in rural Poland. Several house construction scenarios and heating energy sources comparing building costs and potential emission reduction are based on already existing structures calculated for a 100 m2 dwelling corresponding to the average rural home. With the addition of thermal insulation and RE-generating equipment, construction costs increase, but the energy costs of operating the home dramatically shrink between a conventional and energy-neutral house. The latter scenario includes thermal solar panels and a heat pump as heating energy sources as well as electricity-generating PV panels. Replacing coal with environmentally-friendly RE reduces CO2 emissions by about 90% annually. Additionally, lower dependence on coal lessens other GHG emissions leading to immediate air quality improvement. New house building regulations guide homeowner construction and heating energy choice, but even larger gains could result from retrofitting existing rural houses, expanding environmental benefits and generating energy bill savings to households. However, the varying climate throughout Poland will require the purchase of energy in winter to assure residents’ comfort.

Heat pump technology offers a path towards reducing the use of fossil fuels to heat space, providing energy bill savings and reducing air pollution and GHG emissions. The choice of heating method is based on costs; hence, this study examines the gains from operating heat pump systems in public buildings as well as alternative systems using electricity, LPG, and heating oil. The study focuses on the Ruda-Huta municipality in Poland that, as is common in rural areas, lacks access to a district heating system or piped gas. The empirical analysis includes heat pump installations in eight municipal buildings. The study found that the use of ground source heat pumps proved competitive with existing heating systems in terms of payback time. Calculations for three heating energy source scenarios, i.e., electricity, LPG, and heating oil, used the Simple Pay Back Time (SPBT) and the Levelized Cost of Heat (LCOH) methods and the average prices of the three energy types for the period 2012–2021. The payback period calculations disregarded the EU subsidies for heating systems utilizing renewable energy sources (RES). The payback time for electric, LPG, and heating oil were, respectively, 6.7–7.8 years, 4.1–6.1 years, and 6.7–6.9 years. Much larger spreads favoring heat pumps were calculated using the LCOH, and the costs in the case of electric heating were nearly three times higher and doubled when using heating oil and LPG. The gains from investing in heat pump systems have been offset by the increase in electricity, LPH, and heating oil prices, which have been predicted to continue to increase in the foreseeable future supporting the use of heat pumps in rural areas lacking access to, for example, district heating systems. The switch to heat pumps reduced local air pollution by eliminating the burning of fossil fuels to heat space in public buildings.

The article is an attempt to estimate the potential of reduction carbon dioxide emissions using microinstallation of renewable energy sources (RES) in single-family housing. Based on the energy demand of the building, statistical data including the average number of single-family buildings built per year and the average area of a single-family building, the forecasted national annual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the implementation of microinstallations in single-family buildings was calculated. The research results indicated an annual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the use of selected RES microinstallations only in the single-family housing sector at the level of 230,000 t/year.

The article attempts to theoretically analyze the concept of clusters, in particular energy clusters. The paper presents the economic evolution of the cluster theory and the current Polish approach to energy clusters. Cluster structures in Poland have been presented against a background of European experiences. It was found that the current progression of globalization prompts for saving measures, especially in the energy sector, which drives the operation of economies. The way to meet EU requirements regarding the increased share of renewable energy sources and consumption limitation of conventional resources may be distributed energy based on the actions of prosumers, which is undoubtedly manifested in energy clusters. An incentive to create energy clusters are competitions for projects supporting cluster initiatives announced by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management as the Implementing Institution under the Infrastructure and Environment 2014-2020 Operational Programme. Among 66 entities awarded the Pilot Energy Cluster Certificate, the largest number of energy clusters is located in the Mazowieckie Voivodship (10), and the least in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodship (1). Barriers to the creation of energy clusters most often result from a lack of financing and poorly defined central regulations concerning the energy and renewable energy sector in Poland.

The article addresses the progressive changes in the climate caused by increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In light of the applicable regulations, Poland should reduce the emissions with significant potential of creating the greenhouse effect. One way to achieve this is to increase the use of renewable energy sources, where biogas energy production is one of the most effective methods. Using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, the greenhouse gas emissions, expressed as CO2 equivalent generated during the entire logistic process of its production, were calculated.