**2. Assessment of Development Potential of RE in Pomerania Voivodeship—PEST Analysis**

For the assessment of the potential of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in light of the energy transformation and development of RE, we use PEST analysis. PEST analysis belongs to the group of methods used to study the macro-environment.

The main elements of the macro-environment are (Figure 1) [53]:


**Figure 1.** Utilized PEST analysis factors for RE macro-environment: P—political, E—economic, S—social, T—technological (author's own work).

In the presented work, it was considered advisable to subject the diagnosed factors to scoring, depending on the extent to which they support the RE sector. In the utilized scale ranging from 1 to 5, depending on the degree of their support for the development of renewable energy, individual points were assigned as follows:


• 5—a very conducive factor.

At the same time, a formula for averaging the assessments of selected factors was adopted, assuming that this impact on its development means:


This PEST analysis was performed in line with the available literature as well as the current political, economic, social, and technological situation in the Pomerania region and Poland. The weights were counted from 1.00 to 5.00. To determine the weights, a team of experts was appointed, consisting of individuals from the Nicolaus Copernicus University, Gda ´nsk University of Technology, and the University of East Finland. In particular, the authors performed the PEST analysis using the weighting performed by a panel of experts in the fields of Economics, Chemistry, Biology, and Geography.
