Sektor energetyczny w wybranych państwach UE na przykładzie Austrii, Niemiec, Polski i Szwecji – stan i perspektywy rozwoju

The European Union undertakes numerous activities to implement a common energy policy for all Member States. However, since the countries in question have different energy resources, geographical location and terrain, unifi cation of national policies at EU level is a particularly arduous and difficult process. This article focuses on the analysis of energy sectors in Austria, Germany, Poland and Sweden. These countries were chosen because they offer considerable diversity, having different energy resources, geographical location, climatic conditions, as well as a different genesis of shaping their energy policy over the years. The analysis showed that the energy sectors in Poland, Germany, Austria and Sweden operate completely differently and rely on different energy resources. In Sweden, electricity mainly comes from hydropower and nuclear energy, while energy from coal is not produced at all. In Austria, coal is also not extracted, and the production of electricity is based mainly on renewable sources, and above all on hydropower. Germany is one of the countries with the highest level of coal mining in the world, therefore electricity is obtained mainly from this source, but also from nuclear energy and increasingly from renewable sources, mainly wind, biofuel and solar energy. Poland is among the world’s leading producers of coal, and obtaining electricity from this source accounts for as much as 80% in Poland; the rest comes from renewable sources, mainly wind energy, then biofuels, hydro energy and natural gas.