<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The results of the paper are based on a research project which examines the renewable energy investments carried out in Hungarian rural settlements. The study will focus on the municipality-led renewable energy developments, determining the most important local benefits and the aspects of the local community involvement. Altogether 748 rural settlements have been identified, which have implemented at least one renewable energy project through the Environmental and Energy Operative Program between 2007 and 2013. A questionnaire has been sent out to these municipalities, and 159 full answers have been collected and analysed. We have investigated the importance and presence of local benefits deriving from renewable energy investments, and examined what effort is put into the information and involvement of the local community. The study concludes that although several local benefits occur at local level while implementing renewable energy projects, the effect of direct benefits remain at a low level. Furthermore, it can also be stated, that only moderate effort is put into the issue of local community involvement. The study also determines several major threats that can endanger the successfulness of the previous investments, and prevent the further renewable energy developments at local level.</p></abstract>

The results of the paper are based on a research project which examines the renewable energy investments carried out in Hungarian rural settlements. The study will focus on the municipality-led renewable energy developments, determining the most important local benefits and the aspects of the local community involvement. Altogether 748 rural settlements have been identified, which have implemented at least one renewable energy project through the Environmental and Energy Operative Program between 2007 and 2013. A questionnaire has been sent out to these municipalities, and 159 full answers have been collected and analysed. We have investigated the importance and presence of local benefits deriving from renewable energy investments, and examined what effort is put into the information and involvement of the local community. The study concludes that although several local benefits occur at local level while implementing renewable energy projects, the effect of direct benefits remain at a low level. Furthermore, it can also be stated, that only moderate effort is put into the issue of local community involvement. The study also determines several major threats that can endanger the successfulness of the previous investments, and prevent the further renewable energy developments at local level.

Examining the Renewable Energy Investments in Hungarian Rural Settlements: The Gained Local Benefits and the Aspects of Local Community Involvement

Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies

European Countryside

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The results of the paper are based on a research project which examines the renewable energy investments carried out in Hungarian rural settlements. The study...

Examining the Renewable Energy Investments in Hungarian Rural Settlements: The Gained Local Benefits and the Aspects of Local Community Involvement

Published Online: Apr 04, 2018

Page range: 74 - 88

Received: Feb 05, 2017

Accepted: Nov 08, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2018-0005

Keywords
renewable energy utilization, rural development, local benefits, community involvement

© 2018 Patrícia Honvári et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Examining the Renewable Energy Investments in Hungarian Rural Settlements: The Gained Local Benefits and the Aspects of Local Community Involvement

Published Online: Apr 04, 2018

Page range: 74 - 88

Received: Feb 05, 2017

Accepted: Nov 08, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2018-0005

Keywordsrenewable energy utilization, rural development, local benefits, community involvement

© 2018 Patrícia Honvári et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
renewable energy utilization, rural development, local benefits, community involvement