Wedoany.com Report-Dec 12, An agreement has been signed between Polska Grupa Górnicza SA (PGG) and Dalkia Polska Energia SA (Dalkia) to construct a mine water heat recovery installation at the Myslowice – Wesola Coal Mine in Katowice, Poland. The 2-MW installation will enable the use of geothermal heat from the mine’s underground waters and supply this heat to Dalkia’s heating system, providing energy savings of 5260 MWh and reducing CO2 emissions by 1319 tonnes per year.
According to the signed agreement, both parties establish the basic directions and a plan of cooperation regarding the construction of a low-temperature geothermal energy installation in the mine. The project is expected to be completed by the 3rd quarter of 2026.
The heat pump installation will be located in a building on the premises leased from the Myslowice-Wesola Mine. This location was selected due to its proximity to both the underground water pipelines and the heating network, as well as having the space for the construction of the installation.
The system will extract water at 25 °C from a depth of 655 meters. A working medium will absorb the heat from the mine water, which will then go through a heat pump to increase its temperature and pressure.
“PGG’s activities are guided by the idea of corporate social responsibility, hence the conclusion of cooperation, which is a pioneering solution in the company’s structures. Sharing our resources in this way is in line with the implementation of the assumptions of the European green transformation and is very important for our company, thanks to which we could significantly reduce the demand for energy, which would have to be generated from other sources,” said Marek Skuza, Vice President of PGG.
“The construction of this installation in the Myslowice-Wesola mine is in line with Dalkia Polska Energia’s strategy, which aims to reduce emissions and phase out coal in heat production by 2029. The most ecological energy is the one that is not wasted, which is why the use of waste heat or heat from renewable sources should become more and more common. Our company wants to promote and use this solution to be able to provide its customers with heat with the lowest possible carbon footprint,” added Konrad Borowski, President of Dalkia.
A similar mine water heating scheme is operational at Gateshead, UK, which is currently one of the largest mine water heat networks in Europe.
