Possibilities of Storing Natural Gas and Energy in Salt Formations in Poland

Abstract

The state's energy security includes, among others: securing customers' fuel and energy needs. One of the elements of energy policy is storage infrastructure, which enables the storage of natural gas and fuel stocks. It is carried out through surface and underground warehouses. The role of the latter is particularly important due to the capacities offered, but also the technological parameters of the storage process that can be obtained. One of the convenient places to build underground gas and fuel storage facilities are rock salt deposits, where storage caverns are constructed. Due to favorable access to salt geological formations, Poland has great opportunities to build an underground storage base for both natural gas and liquid fuels. The process of decarbonization of the energy sector forces us to look for new energy sources that will, over time, replace fossil fuels in the energy system. The answer to this challenge are renewable energy sources (water, wind, sun), the advantage of which is inexhaustibility, but on the other hand, the disadvantage is that they are uncontrollable due to their dependence on climate/weather conditions. The article discusses the possibilities of building cavern underground gas and energy storage facilities, paying attention to the latter as future solutions necessary for use in the energy system. Against the background of the rock salt resource base, potential locations of future cavern storage facilities were indicated.