New funding awarded for geothermal drilling in seven municipalities in Poland

Signing of funding agreements with seven municipalities in Poland with Minister of Climate and Environment Paulina Hennig-Kloski (source: Republic of Poland)

The Ministry of Climate and Environment of Poland has signed agreements with seven municipalities for the funding of over PLN 115 million (approx. USD 28.6 million) to co-finance geothermal test drilling and identify thermal water deposits. Funding will come from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOSiGW), which has been supporting geothermal exploration drilling in Poland since 2020.

Agreements for funding were signed with the following municipalities:

• Wrzesnia
• Kalisz
• Kazimierz Biskupi
• Wloclawek
• Kruszwica
• Barlinek
• Police

Boreholes as deep as 3000 meters are planned for the sites. The deepest borehole planned will be in Kruszwica, with a target depth of 3290 meters.

During the signing ceremony, Minister of Climate and Environment Paulina Hennig-Kloska recounted that the first geothermal research efforts in Wrzesnia were done in the 1970s. “The example of Wrzesnia shows how long the road from plans to implementation of such projects is. This process is rarely complete without state support. And we are aware that it is difficult to carry out such investments on your own.”

“We also know that geothermal sources in a national perspective will never be a key element of the heat acquisition system, but in a local perspective they can solve significant problems. They can also perform many other functions, for example in agriculture or the development of tourist attractions such as geothermal pools.”

The NFOSiGW has supported many Polish geothermal projects through the years, with a good number of them coming far along the development process. In early 2024, one of the project supported by the fund, the Geotermia Kolo heating plant, officially started operations.

Source: The Republic of Poland