Geothermal well in Gluszyca, Poland deemed insufficient for district heating
Drilling operations in Gluszyca, Poland (source: Official website of Gluszyca)
Carlo Cariaga
1 Jul 2025
Low flowrates at the geothermal research well in Gluszyca, Poland make it insufficient for district heating, but alternative applications are being explored.
After testing of a 2500-meter geothermal research borehole in Gluszyca, Poland, the flowrate of the well was evaluated to be too low to support plans for municipal heating and a geothermal pool. However, the commune is looking into the possibility of using the mineralized water for medicinal or balneological applications.
Drilling of the geothermal research well in Gluszyca started in March 2024. Poland’s National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOSiGW) funded a large part of the project with a PLN 15.4 million (approx. USD 4.3 million) grant.
Although the bottom hole temperature was measured at 75 °C, the temperature at the surface was less than 20 °C. This is mainly because of a very low flowrate of only 0.3 m3/hour. Thus, it is not possible to use the well for space heating.
The commune is currently looking into the option of utilizing the medicinal properties of the water. “On the one hand, experts are persuading me to conduct the tests again, because they may be different from the first ones. Secondly – these mineral waters that we have may indicate that Gluszyca may slowly think about going to spa waters, because there are similar waters in Swieradów-Zdrój, with exactly similar parameters,” said Roman Glod, the Mayor of Gluszyca.
Researchers are also looking into the possibility of installing a downhole heat exchanger, or even attempting another well testing program. All these ideas are still being explored and there is no final decision yet on the direction of the geothermal project.
Source: Radio Wroclaw
