Survey on mine-water geothermal in Poland

The study in three coal mining regions: Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia and Lublin (each N=500) was conducted using Computer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI).

The questionnaire includes the block of questions concerning mine water awareness, climate change and local/place attachment. The survey online took 15 to 20 minutes and was prepared after in-depth pilot research among participants with different education level from the mining regions. We used the uninformed approach to the survey, so there were no additional questions nor requirements for participants prior to the survey.

Since the mine water energy extraction is a technical issue that is neither well known nor commonly used in the narratives of Poles, we tested survey questions with pilot cognitive interviews to remove the technical language and reduce the number of replies without understanding. The interviews were conducted with 10 participants in July 2020 and due to the pilot's recommendations and results, we implemented additional changes in the final version of the questionnaire. Specifically, some questions were simplified and the background information on mine water extraction was simplified and shortened

The survey CAWI was completed by adult people aged 18-65 (N=1500) between 14-19 August 2020 by Kantar Research Agency. The sample was constructed using KANTAR’s internet panel profiled for the basic demographics, such as gender, age, and the town size. Particular attention paid to the quality of the panel is reflected in its structure. Kantar’s internet panel reflects the profile of the Polish population of Internet users in terms of its participants’ demographic characteristics. The sample from each region was 500 respondents and among the full sample (N=1500) we reached only 192 people who chose to call "mining areas" as best description of the area where they live. Although the three voivodships were chosen due to its mining industry the selected sample covers the region in general in which mining communities are statically not fully represented.

We also asked about the subjective perception of the area respondents live in, which we further analysed with spatial distribution.

The dataset was created within SECURe project (Subsurface Evaluation of CCS and Unconventional Risks) - https://www.securegeoenergy.eu/. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 764531