Electricity production being considered from 6-km geothermal well in Szaflary, Poland
Drilling rig operations at the site of the Banska PGP-4 geothermal well in Szaflary, Poland (source: video screenshot, Polish Geological Institute)
Carlo Cariaga
19 Jan 2026
Parameters of the 6103-meter geothermal well in Szaflary, Poland have made authorities consider electricity production, which could be pioneering for Poland.
With well testing now completed, the initial temperature and flowrate parameters measured from the 6000-meter well in Szaflary, Poland have exceeded expectations. As Mayor Rafal Szkaradzinski explains, the well’s parameters support the possibility of electricity production, which could be a pioneering project for Poland.
The geothermal well drilled in Szaflary had set an ambitious target depth of 7000 meters, as first announced back in 2023. Drilling of the Banska PGP-4 well officially started in April 2023 and was completed in April 2025. The operations ran into several technical problems, including very slow rate of penetration through hard rock formation and equipment failure. The decision was then made to terminate the well at 6103.2 meters, substantially short of the target.
Despite not reaching the target depth, the Mayor states that both the temperature and flowrate were higher than anticipated. The waters had temperatures of around 120 °C, flowrates of up to 400 cubic meters per hour, and low mineralization. The well also intersected a newly discovered aquifer at about 5000 meters depth, which the municipality plans to exploit for production. Thus, electricity generation is now being considered from the well, which will be a first in Poland.
“Generating electricity from geothermal sources is a pioneering project on a national scale; no other well in Poland has similar parameters. The area in which we are located offers unique opportunities,” said Szkaradzinski.
Construction of a pipeline for geothermal heating has also been underway concurrent with the drilling. The work is now approximately 50% completed. The pipeline is primarily being built for the communities of Szaflary, but can be connected to a section of the pipeline in Nowy Targ, which will also be supplied by the well in Szaflary. Connections to about 80 buildings in Szaflary is scheduled to be built later this year.
Geothermal drilling in Szaflary has been supported by subsidies from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. The municipality authorities have not ruled out the possibility of further geothermal drilling, stating that such initiatives are in line with the Polish Government’s energy policy and the EU’s energy transition strategy.
Source: Portal Komunalny
