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Up to EUR 140m available under Polish geothermal support scheme

Up to EUR 140m available under Polish geothermal support scheme Geothermal well at Zakopane, Poland (Source: Geotermia Podhalanska)
Alexander Richter 1 Jul 2019

With available funding of up to EUR 140 million (half as grants and half as loans) under the Polish Geothermal Plus support scheme, Poland is pushing for an increase in the usage of geothermal energy in the country.

Consolidation of programmes supporting developments of the geothermal energy industry in Poland is the objective of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFO?iGW) in Poland. The programme is called “Polish Geothermal Plus” (pol.: “Polska Geotermia Plus”) programme.

Its main objective is an increase in the usage of various types of geothermal resources across Poland. The direct motives of the programme are results of scientific research on the geothermal potential in Poland throughout recent years. The amount of allocations for returnable and non-returnable forms of subventions is PLN 600 000 000 or around EUR 140 million, including up to 300 000 PLN (EUR 70 m) for non-returnable forms of subventions, and another 300 000 PLN (EUR 70 m) for returnable forms of subventions.

Projects that have a chance to be financed are divided into obligatory and optional types. The obligatory type projects include, among others, construction of a new geothermal heating or power plant, extension or modernization of an existing heating or power plant, modernization or expansion of existing energy generation sources by a heating or power plant, construction or reconstruction of a geothermal borehole, excluding the first exploratory borehole. Optional investments eligible for support under the new programme include, among other, modernization of district heating networks, improvement of energy efficiency, drilling of the first research borehole.

Grants may reach up to 40% of eligible costs (up to 50% in the case of geothermal projects using ORC technology), and loans up to 100% of eligible costs. The “Polska Geotermia Plus” programme will be implemented in the years 2019 – 2025, where commitments will be undertaken until 2023, and disbursement of funds is planned until 2025. The programme is addressed to entrepreneurs, within the meaning of the act of 6 March 2018 Entrepreneurs law (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 646, as amended), performing an economic activity. Applications for subventions may be submitted starting from 3 July 2019 until the funds are exhausted. The announced call for proposals is continuous, which means that the applications will be assessed on an ongoing basis.

 

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We thank M.Eng. Michal Kruszewski, researcher  and PhD candidate at the International Geothermal Centre in Bochum/ Germany for the article.