Abstract
The Lower Silesian Coal Basin in south-western Poland was a region of intensive coal mining until the late 1990s. After mining was stopped and the mines were closed, the underground workings were flooded. This created an underground reservoir of waters that can be economically managed to supply energy, using heat pumps, to the town of Nowa Ruda. The article analyses the energy potential of these waters. It was shown that open loop with reinjection system based on mine shafts can provide 10 GWh of geothermal energy while reducing emissions from 4.27 tCO2 to 0.22 tCO2. In addition, 2.09 GWh can be extracted from water flowing out of mine shafts via adits. As a final result, this will lead to improve air quality as well as increase the environmental value of the region. These results can act as a reference tool for local government, specialists in energy policy at the local scale. They are also the basis for future work aimed at acquiring external funds to carry out detailed studies of the condition of mine shafts, geothermal profiling of water in sunken shafts and test pumping, which will make it possible to determine the real quantities of water to be used.
Highlights
Until the end of the 20th century, Lower Silesia (Figure 1) was one of the most important mining districts in Poland
In the Lower Silesia Coal Basin (LSCB) area this was compounded by the complex geological structure of the coal deposits, which made it not possible to apply mechanization on a large scale
Assessment of the geothermal potential of mining waters has been performed for the Upper Silesian Coal Basin [20,21,22]
Summary
Until the end of the 20th century, Lower Silesia (Figure 1) was one of the most important mining districts in Poland It produced very good quality coking coal, which was exported throughout Europe. Flooded workings and mine shafts, partially filled with spoil, remain after the former mining activity They represent a potential that can be used to produce green energy using low-temperature geothermal energy. Assessment of the geothermal potential of mining waters has been performed for the Upper Silesian Coal Basin [20,21,22]. No such analyses have been published for the LSCB. The aim of the article is to assess the possibilities of obtaining geothermal energy from mine waters (shafts, outflows) on the basis of the author’s own research and collected archival data
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