The insurance funds belong to efficient measures mitigating risks in geothermal projects, including resource risk. They already exist in some European countries, e.g., France, the Netherlands, Turkey. Recently, the proposals of establishing such funds were elaborated for three countries: Greece, Hungary, and Poland within the framework of the EU-funded project “Developing geothermal and renewable energy projects by mitigating their risks”, GEORISK (www.georisk-project.eu). A 10 year operational and financial simulation of the proposed public insurance funds was conducted to prove their sustainability in each of three listed states. It started with the determination of the country-specific premises. The numbers of projects in the next 10 years possible to be covered by funds were assumed by the authors on the bases of realistic estimations. The initial capital, the fixed costs, the costs of the project evaluation, the premium fees paid by the investors, the payment for the unsuccessful projects altogether were taken into account. The first draft simulation was done with the exact Hungarian assumptions and inputs of fixed costs and also with average project data, thus making it appropriate to perform sensitivity analyses on: insurance premiums, success rates and the risk coverages. Then, complete simulations were made for three listed countries. The results of the simulation show that a resource risk insurance fund can be a sustainable and an effective measure to support geothermal energy sector development. During the planning of a new fund, it is important to make use of long experiences both of the former and existing funds.

The aim of the presented work was an attempt to verify the geothermal conditions in the Polish Lowlands (Lower Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous reservoir) based on new geological information. The paper presents geothermal conditions in the Polish Lowlands according to the state of recognition at the end of 2022 in order to update the hydrogeothermal conditions in selected regions. Based on the scientific and research works published so far as well as numerous geothermal investments, and geological information from twenty-three new exploratory drilling events performed in the years 2000–2022 (nineteen of which were performed/documented after 2006), the authors undertook to update forecasts of the top surface of Lower Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous formations, the total thickness of these formations and the potential discharge of wells. The analysis was performed using the QGIS Desktop 3.24.1 software, a cross-platform and free open-source geoinformation software application (GIS ) that enables the viewing, editing and analyzing of spatial data and the creation of maps. The correction covered the course of the isolines on all six analyzed maps. The presented analysis made it possible to make a spot correction of the forecasted course of the isoline in relation to the maps published earlier in the Atlas of geothermal resources in the Polish Lowlands. Mesozoic formations developed in 2006, edited by Wojciech Górecki. Information obtained from newly drilled geothermal boreholes enabled the local correction of the forecasted values of individual parameters while maintaining the general trend.

Agriculture is among the most promising applications of geothermal energy, and Poland has conditions to develop geothermal use in this sector. Suitable locations for agricultural geothermal installations shall be selected during the planning stage. To support the selection process, the authors chosed and analyzed thematic maps and other information on basic natural conditions for agriculture in Poland, potential conflicts between the operation of possible geothermal agricultural installations and other important functions of the natural environment, valuable natural areas and protection systems, elements of the current agricultural economy, etc. The authors combined them with the spatial distribution of geothermal reservoir parameters suitable for their agricultural applications using CorelDRAW X7 software. As a result, the regions with prospective geothermal applications in a sustainable agriculture can be identified, while maintaining the existing natural functions of the area. An example is given of the energetic, technical and economic calculations for agricultural greenhouses which can be supplied by geothermal resources in an area with existing natural functions, and a relevant study case is presented. The novel approach described in this paper may serve as an example in other countries of agricultural development with the use of geothermal resources.

Celem pracy była weryfikacja prognoz temperatury i mineralizacji wód dolnej jury i dolnej kredy na Niżu Polskim, na podstawie nowej informacji geologicznej. W pierwszym z serii artykułów, pt. Weryfikacja uwarunkowań geotermalnych na Niżu Polskim na podstawie danych z nowych wierceń zrealizowanych w latach 2000–2022, przedstawiono analizę warunków geotermalnych, natomiast w niniejszej pracy zwrócono uwagę na parametry mające wpływ na warunki hydrogeochemiczne, tj. temperaturę w stropie utworów oraz mineralizację wód. W tym celu wykorzystano dane z C entralnej Bazy Danych Geologicznych (CBDG), Centralnego Banku Danych Hydrogeologicznych – Bank HYDRO oraz z dotychczas opublikowanych prac naukowo-badawczych. W latach 2000–2023 wykonano i udokumentowano na obszarze Niżu Polskiego 24 otwory poszukiwawcze o głębokości przekraczającej 1000 m p.p.t dostarczające informacji o temperaturze i mineralizacji wód ujmowanych z utworów dolnej jury lub dolnej kredy. Ocenę zmian przestrzennych, tak jak w przypadku pierwszej części pracy, wykonano z wykorzystaniem oprogramowania QGIS Desktop 3.24.1, oprogramowania geoinformacyjnego (GIS ) umożliwiającego przeglądanie, edytowanie i analizowanie danych przestrzennych oraz tworzenie map. Zaprezentowane analizy pozwoliły na dokonanie punktowej, lokalnej korekty prognozowanego przebiegu izolinii w odniesieniu do publikowanych wcześniej map w Atlasie zasobów geotermalnych na Niżu Polskim. Formacje mezozoiku opracowanym w 2006 r., pod redakcja naukową Wojciecha Góreckiego.

The article presents the possibility of utilising the available potential of the main geothermal reservoirs in Poland, i.e. the Lower Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous, by using the existing infrastructure in the form of still-operating district heating networks. The suggested solution, therefore integrates the resource side with the infrastructure side. This approach should significantly accelerate the implementation of the proposed solutions, supporting the achievement of the ambitious objectives of Poland’s Energy Policy 2040. Geothermal resources in Poland are characterised by low enthalpy and low temperature. Their temperature is often too low for direct utilisation in systems relying solely on geothermal energy. Existing district heating networks require significantly higher heating medium temperatures during specific periods (when low ambient air temperature is observed). Using existing boilers as peak energy sources while employing geothermal energy as the base load for meeting annual heating demands appears to be an attractive and feasible technical option. Poland, alongside Denmark, Latvia, Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania, is among the countries with the highest density of district heating networks. These networks serve as invaluable infrastructure, reducing the costs associated with geothermal energy extraction. However, this infrastructure is under real threat from the trend towards decentralised energy systems. The liquidation of district heating networks would be irreversible, further exacerbated by the lack of access to clean and alternative energy carriers to replace fossil fuels. It has been demonstrated that, in most analysed cases, the combination of available geothermal resources and district heating infrastructure can successfully contribute to achieving the assumed goals of Poland’s Energy Policy. In the best locations, the share of renewable energy exceeded 80%, with an average of around 50%. The total reduction of CO2 emissions is estimated as 1.16 million tonnes yearly. The article draws attention to the slow but positive change in the electricity mix, in which the share of RES is growing. This trend is extremely beneficial for popularising heat pumps powered by electricity using geothermal resources as a low-temperature energy carrier.

The agriculture and related sectors present one of the most prospective areas for geothermal energy applications. In many countries they have already been introduced, and new investments in this sector have been also observed. Also Poland has the appropriate resources’ potential – in a wide range of temperatures, for different crops, as well as in the types of applications related to agriculture. The use of this green energy can contribute to sustainable development of agriculture.To achieve this when planning and designing geothermal installations for agriculture, they should be considered from the energy and agricultural points of view, as well as appropriate locations for them shall be selected so that they would be harmoniously incorporated, among others, into existing systems of valuable natural areas (which already play various important functions in the natural environment) and would not interfere with other underground resources of strategic economic importance.The main aspects of such an approach to the sustainable development of the geothermal energy applications in agriculture and related sectors in Poland, as well as natural circumstances, are presented in this article. Also included are basic energy parameters (based on the results of calculations) and technical and economic parameters for greenhouse facilities in one of the selected prospective locations in the Polish Lowlands, which could be supplied by local geothermal resources, contributing to sustainable development of agriculture.