The paper presents results of geothermal projects carried out in the last 23 years by the interdisciplinary research team at the AGH University of Science and Technology, in cooperation with numerous scientific institutions, published in the form of geothermal atlases in different parts of Poland. For many years, the Department of Fossil Fuels at the Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, has conducted the fundamental research and implementation work, aiming at the selection of optimum areas for utilization of geothermal waters and energy. Over the years, a methodology of estimation of geothermal resources with use of advanced techniques and numerical modeling has been developed. Recapitulation of the studies of the occurrence and utilization of geothermal waters and energy within geological units of the Polish Lowlands, Carpathians and Carpathian Foredeep has been reflected in seven Atlases. The Atlases represent a result of interdisciplinary, constructive cooperation of specialists from various, often remote fields of knowledge, fundamental and technological in nature, including: geologists, geophysicists, hydrogeologists, geochemists, drilling engineers, heat engineers, and many other specialists. The Atlases enable the selection of the most promising areas for utilization of geothermal waters and energy in Poland. The best geothermal conditions are predicted in the Polish Lowlands and Podhale region although in many areas of the Carpathians and the Carpathian Foredeep favorable geothermal conditions also occur.

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The housing sector, especially with respect to energy generation to provide heating and domestic hot water, has been identified, after transport, as contributing the most to air pollution and the occurrence of low emissions in Poland. In particular, this applies to areas where there is a lack of heating and gas networks. This paper presents the results of calculations relating to the emission of atmospheric pollutants (TSP—total suspended particles as particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5, SOx—sulphur dioxide, NOx—nitrogen dioxide, CO—carbon monoxide) from individual sources of heat. The fact that a commune that does not have the network infrastructure, noted above, was taken into consideration, and the structure of heat generation was estimated on the basis of coal, fuel oil and biomass. The analysis was carried out taking into account the variable heat generation structure in households depending on the fuels used, including the heating values of fuels and the efficiency of heating devices. Based on the calculations carried out, an ecological effect was obtained by assuming the replacement of heat sources by devices with higher efficiency and also by considering the possibility of using heat pumps as a zero-emission solution in the households. This article attempts to answer the question posed by municipal authorities on how to limit the negative impact on the environment of individual heating devices in order to achieve sustainable development, including the specific conditions resulting from limited infrastructural opportunities.

In the years 2010-2013, anal y sis of rocks that build the sed i men tary cov ers in Po land was car ried out from the point of view of uti li za tion of en ergy ac cu mu lated in Hot Dry Rock -used in En hanced Geo ther mal Sys tems (EGS). As a re sult of a number of an a lyt i cal stud ies, the area sit u ated in the cen tral part of Po land was se lected as one of pro spec tive ar eas for lo ca tion of EGS in sed i men tary rocks. This area en com passes a ma jor part of the Mogilno-£ódŸ Trough, a part of the Kujawy Swell and a small frag ment of the Fore-Sudetic Monocline. The most fa vour able con di tions for de vel op ment of EGS oc cur in the Lower Tri as sic de pos its in the Krooeniewice-Kutno vi cin ity, where they are bur ied to depths greater than 5000 m b.s.l., their thick nesses ex ceeds 1500 m, po ros ity is about 3% and per me abil ity is about 0.02-0.1 mD. In the study area, ther mal char acter iza tion of the for ma tion was car ried out for lo ca tion of the EGS in sed i men tary rocks. The tem per a ture at the top of the Lower Tri as sic res er voir is mod elled in the range of 165-175°C. Char ac ter iza tion of petrophysical pa ram e ters was the ba sis for fur ther mod el ling of EGS uti li za tion in this area.

Out of 2 TWe of coal power plant capacity in operation globally today, more than half is less than 14 years old. Climate policy related to limiting CO2-emissions makes the longer-term operation of these plants untenable. In this study, we assess the spectrum of available options for the future of both equipment and jobs in the coal power sector by assessing the full scope of “retrofit decarbonization” options. Retrofit decarbonization is an umbrella term that includes adding carbon capture, fuel conversion, and the replacement of coal boilers with new low-carbon energy sources, in each case re-using as much of the existing equipment as economically practicable while reducing or eliminating emissions. This article explores this idea using the Polish coal power fleet as a case study. Retrofit decarbonization in Poland was shown to be most attractive using high-temperature small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) to replace coal boilers, which can lower upfront capital costs by ~28–35% and levelized cost of electricity by 9–28% compared to a greenfield installation. If retrofit decarbonization is implemented globally by the late 2020s, up to 200 billion tons of otherwise-committed CO2-emissions could be avoided.