Bearing the name United Heat, the Polish border city of Zgorzelec and its German twin Görlitz are to build a new joint cross-border heating system entirely powered by sustainable energy sources. The cities (85,000 inhabitants together) announced their plans earlier this April.
Split by the Lusatian Neisse river, Polish Zgorzelec and German Görlitza already have had cross-border municipal public transport for some time. The energy plan is more daring, consisting of a 25-megawatt biomass heating plant on the Polish side, solar panels, and heat pumps connected to the Berzdorf Lake on the German side.
50,000 tonnes CO2 emissions reduction
The biomass plant is already under construction, and the plan calls for both cities to connect their still independent heating networks by 2028. By 2030, all elements of the plan should have been added, leading to a CO2 emissions reduction of an estimated 50,000 tonnes. According to the two cities, this equals taking 28,000 petrol cars off the road.
The project is budgeted at EUR 190 million, of which 50% is funded by the European Union. | © 2026 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com (text and photo). Featured photo: The Lusatian Neisse river with Görlitz on the left connect by a few bridges to Zgorzelec on the south (Photo: Marcel Burger)