Poland’s Climate and Environment Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska signed on Friday (5 April) an agreement for the construction of a geothermal heating plant in Turek, Greater Poland voivodeship.
The heating plant, along with the drilling of a new absorption well GT-2, is expected to cost over 90 million Polish zloty (20 million euros), with funding from Poland’s National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) covering over 73 million Polish zloty (17 million euros).
“If we are to go through the energy transformation process, it cannot be denied that the state is the entity that must give local governments a hand, because the investments that need to be made are often beyond the entities’ capabilities. The development of geothermal heating plants is an area that in some places will be a perfect complement to the entire energy transformation process. This is a branch that we will develop in Poland,” said Minister Hennig-Kloska.
The obtained geothermal energy obtained is estimated to satisfy around 40 per cent of the city’s heat demand and help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and lower heating costs for residents. Currently, 60 per cent of the costs are emissions fees.
“Turek and this region are fortunate geologically because there are geothermal waters here with suitable parameters for economic use, not only energetically. This was confirmed during the drilling of the first well. The water has favourable parameters in terms of temperature – around 78 degrees Celsius,” said Deputy Minister Krzysztof Galos, the country’s chief geologist.
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The project includes three elements: drilling of the geothermal well Turek GT-2 – intake/discharge well, construction of a pipeline connecting the geothermal well (production) Turek GT-1 with the well (intake) Turek GT-2, and the construction of a geothermal heating plant, utilising a heat exchanger and a heat pump.
The heating plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, Poland’s Climate and Ministry noted in a press release.
