| Abstract |
According to the current estimates, Polish resources of geothermal waters amount ca 6600 km3. The water is characterized with temperatures in the range of 25oC to 150 oC , the above fact predisposes it to be utilized directly for the heating, technological ,and therapeutic purposes. Resources are quite uniformly located in the prevailing part of Poland, in allocated geothermal basins and sub-basins. According to the estimates, ca 60% of these resources can be practically utilized. The most favourable conditions appear in the Polish Lowland, which makes the region a potential geothermal centre. Favourable geothermal conditions appear also in Podhale Highlands and in the Sudety mountains. Up to the end of the 80-ties of the last century, geothermal energy was applied in Poland mostly in balneology. Its practical application in the power industry ,and most of all in heating engineering, has begun only in 1993, as the experimental geothermal installation in Banska, near Zakopane was built. At present, there operate five big geothermal heating plants in Poland, and there are plans to build and set in operation the next ones. The aim of the present paper is to recapitulate the almost ten-years` period of efforts connected with utilizing the geothermal energy in Poland. With consideration to the above purpose, the paper will give a description of geothermal resources in Poland and it will depict the present condition and development perspectives for energetic installations that apply geothermal water for heating purposes. The paper will also present the existing geothermal heating plants: in Banska Nizna and Bialy Dunajec, in Pyrzyce, Mszczonow, Uniejow and Slomniki. Plants in the course of building, as well as proceedings connected with the future geothermal installations will be discussed in the paper. To make the paper complete, remarks and conclusions resulting from the operation of the so far existing geothermal installations will be presented. |