Solar to power deep-well geothermal heat exchange in Poland

June 14, 2021 Alterna Europe & Middle East, Geothermal, Geothermal Power, heat pumps, hybrid, Poland, project, Projects/ Research, Sekowa, solar PV, Think GeoEnergy

Energy Disrupter

The Polish government supports the revamp of a geothermal project turning into a hybrid deep heat exchange project utilising solar PV and heat pumps in Sekowa, Poland.

Following news on the unfortunate case of an unproductive well drilled for a planned geothermal project in Poland, the Polish government is now supporting a revamp of the project as a hybrid project.

The plan is to use a deep-borehole heat exchanger. The heat pump attached will be powered with a solar PV installation as reported by PV Magazine. With that the hope is to revamp the project and deliver renewable energy fuelled district heating.

The Sekowa project drilled a well, Sekowa GT-1 to a depth of 3,000 meters in Gmina Sekowa, Gorlice, Poland. The well was drilled by Exalo Drilling between May and September 2020. The drilling was co-financed by the Natioanl Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

The target for the project was to extract water with a temperature of around 60 degrees Celsius and a capacity of 40-70 cubic meters. Various partners then evaluated ways to utilise the well drilled for heating purposes nevertheless. A model utilising heat pumps was then developed and officially kicked off as project on June 2, 2021, as reported by the city’s website. The target is to derive heat generated from the heat pumps to deliver 60 degrees C water for use nearby. With that hybrid approach sufficient hot water can be produced for buildings, a recreational center, which includes swimming pools in Sekowa.

“Utilizing the energy potential of liquidated, post-exploitation or negative boreholes – a pilot project for the Sekowa GT-1 borehole ”. It will be the first project of this type in Poland and one of the first in the world.

“We hope that the implementation of the pilot project in Sekowa will bring positive results, which will facilitate the use of boreholes for geothermal purposes in various locations in Poland. Currently, such holes are liquidated, while the technology of deep heat exchangers offers prospects for their further exploitation and a return on some of the costs incurred. The energy of the Earth’s interior obtained thanks to deep bore heat exchangers may be another component increasing the share of renewable energy in local heating. This task is part of the commune’s investment plans, which include the construction of a rehabilitation and recreation center in Sekowa. For this purpose, the commune has already obtained funds from the Governmental Fund for Local Investments in the amount of PLN 3.8 million (around EUR 840k). “

Source: PV Magazine and Sekowa.pl

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