Guben-Gubin sewage treatment plant

Tourist attractions

Description

The current mechanical and biological wastewater treatment plant in Gubin is a combination of objects from two different time periods: historic buildings from the beginning of the 20^th century, which now serve as a museum, and a new part from the end of the 1990s, which is one of the first cross-border projects of the Eurocity Guben-Gubin. The plant is located in the north-western part of Gubin, right next to the Neisse river, and serves both towns. The facility is distinguished not only by its international character - but the assumption is also the result of the implementation of the international pilot project of the Polish and German Ministry of Environmental Protection. On over 5.5 hectares, there is a tank that collects the biogas stored during the wastewater treatment processes. The engine that processes it produces approximately 230 kilowatts (kW) of electricity and 420 kW of thermal energy, thus ensuring 100% of the heat and 27% electricity requirements for the wastewater treatment plant. Additionally, in the north-eastern part of the facility there is a photovoltaic installation with a total capacity of 475 kW, which covers a further 30% of the electricity demand. The facility also has two 79.8 kW heat pumps and heat accumulators powered by electricity from a photovoltaic installation.

Unfortunately, the sewage treatment plant also has a dark history. On its premises, the Nazi government established an external branch of the concentration camp "Groß Rosen" for French and Italian prisoners of war and Jewish forced laborers (see: Plaque commemorating the victims of the former concentration camp in Albert Koenig Park).

Historical background

In 1903, the city of Guben, still undivided by the provisions of the Potsdam Confederation, decided to build the first sewage treatment plant, which it put into operation in 1905. The facility operated in this form until 1945.

Eight years after the end of World War II, Guben built its own sewage treatment plant, which the city used until 1997. In 1994 the City Council of Gubin proposed the Guben municipality to jointly expand and use the historical facility on the Polish side. In this way, in the years 1995-1998, a number of efforts were undertaken to plan and build a cross-border sewage treatment plant that would meet both Polish and German technical, construction and environmental protection requirements. Since then, the facility has operated as an international company.

In 2011, the sewage treatment plant obtained a license for the production and sale of electricity generated from biogas.

At the end of 2019, a photovoltaic installation with a total capacity of 475 kW was launched, and a year later a biogas tank with a capacity of 500 m³, thus resigning from two main power connections. In this way, it was possible to cover more than 80% of the total electricity demand of the treatment plant with renewable energy sources.