Considerations on the Legal Classification of Geothermal Installations – a Contribution to The Discussion

The extraction of heat energy through ground source heat pumps (GPCs), powered by natural energy, is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional energy sources and provides an effi cient source of sustainable heating, cooling and seasonal thermal energy storage and recovery. This study attempts to analyse the problems of legal qualifi cation of geothermal equipment. Bearing in mind the investment process and the subsequent use of geothermal energy sources, such as heat and cooling storage, energy foundations or reservoirs (near-surface and subsurface), it becomes extremely important to answer the question of the legal nature of the indicated devices. In particular, to clarify whether they fall within the concept of real estate expressed in Article 46 § 1 of the Act of 23 April 1964. – Civil Code, or whether they are construction objects within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the Act of 7 July 1994 – Construction Law. It should be emphasised that whether a given device will be qualifi ed as real estate, a construction object, or whether it will not have such a legal status, will determine both the decision as to the implementation of the investment (the issue of permits, investment costs, the time needed for the implementation of the investment) and the subsequent use of the device (the issue of tax charges on both the device itself and the energy generated with it).