| Abstract |
The paper introduces the status of geothermal energy development in Poland during the period 2000 - 2004, since the presentation of update report at the World Geothermal Congress in 2000 (Kepinska et al., 2000). The beginning of geothermal use for heating dates back to the last decade of the 20th century. The tradition of using warm waters for curing in several localities is much older as it originated in the 13th-14th centuries. The country is characterised by significant low-enthalpy geothermal potential, connected mostly with the Mesozoic sediments. Space heating represents the most important type of direct uses, as it can play essential role in local energy markets and result in a considerable reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels. Since 1992, five geothermal heating plants have been launched, including two of them put into operation in the period 2000 - 2004 reported in this paper. At the end of 2004, total installed geothermal capacity amounted to 170.8 MWt, while heat sales was about 838.3 TJ comparing to 70 MWt and 280 TJ in 1999, as presented at WGC 2000. The main contribution to these figures gave the Podhale plant (41.2 MWt, and 187 TJ), and ground-source heat pumps (ca. 80 MWt, and 500 TJ) the development of which has been recently observed in the country. The investments works were accompanied by basic research, feasibility studies and implementation projects. Among prospective geothermal options for the future are: the adaptation of abandoned wells; multipurpose, integrated systems; heat pumps; heat extraction from the underground mines. |