POSSIBILITIES OF INCREASING RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES IN CROATIA - WOOD PELLET

Energy from renewable sources globally presents very important issue. In order to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions countries promote legislations for renewable energy sources consumption incensement. Croatia has by signing the Kyoto Protocol committed itself to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by five percent by 2020 and promotion of wooden biomass usage, especially wood pellet, presents one of activities to fulfil these obligations. On the other hand, regarding wooden biomass usage Croatia is still at the beginning, and most of this important energy source is exported. Wood pellet is an environmentally acceptable product and its production significantly contributes to rural development and sustainable approach to the management of timber resources, but at the same time this important energy source is neglected in strategic planning and energy policies. Croatian wood pellets producers with a potential production of 260,000 tonnes so far have been forced to export. In 2014, 92% of total Croatian wood pellet production was export to foreign markets. The main reason for this market situation is that Croatian market (public institutions and private persons) is not yet enough informed about scope of wood pellet usage and it advances in the contacts of ecology and green economy. The aim of this paper was to explore how much Croatian households in generally know about wood pellets and what the possibilities of its future consumption incensement are.