India’s new nationwide coverage on geothermal power seeks to construct on curiosity from analysis corporations in the USA, Iceland, and Norway to check its business viability within the nation, Ministry of New and Renewable Power (MNRE) Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi stated on Wednesday. Corporations from Iceland and Norway are R&D and pilot initiatives within the Gulf of Cambay, Arunachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, he added.
Geothermal power faucets the earth’s warmth from scorching water springs on the floor or reservoirs deep underground, utilizing steam to spin generators and generate electrical energy. It’s a renewable supply and may also be harnessed from scorching rocks for heating and cooling, greenhouses, and aquaculture. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has mapped 381 scorching springs nationwide with floor temperatures between 35°C and 89°C, whose exploration and improvement the brand new MNRE coverage, launched on September 17, goals to assist.
“Some Norwegian and Icelandic analysis corporations have proven curiosity within the Gulf of Cambay, Arunachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. They’ve even despatched their groups to do some pilot research. There’s quite a lot of curiosity,” Sarangi stated in a media briefing. Moreover, the federal government can even discover technological collaborations with the US and Indonesia, particularly for enhanced geothermal programs for bigger energy crops.
India has an estimated 10.6 gigawatts (GW) of geothermal potential, which might rise with additional exploration. Key websites lie within the Himalayan Geothermal Province — protecting Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Arunachal Pradesh — in addition to the Cambay Graben in Gujarat, dwelling to a number of deserted oil wells, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Globally, lower than 17 GW of geothermal capability is harnessed, led by the US, Indonesia, and the Philippines, whereas nations like Iceland and Norway have pioneered modern applied sciences within the sector.
In June 2024, the US Worldwide Commerce Administration (ITA) stated, “Puga and Chumathang in japanese Ladakh appear to be essentially the most promising geothermal fields in India. Efforts are additionally being made to make the most of geothermal power from present oil and fuel wells in ONGC’s Gandhar oil area in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, adopted by Cambay Basin in Gujarat.” It referred to as on American corporations to “discover alternatives within the Indian market, the place geothermal power is being seen as a supplemental resolution to power storage and out there backup choices.”
In keeping with the Worldwide Power Company (IEA), “China, the US and India have the biggest market potential for next-generation geothermal electrical energy, collectively accounting for three-quarters of the worldwide complete.” The IEA estimates India’s geothermal market potential to develop to 4.2 GW by 2035 and practically 100 GW by 2045.
Story continues beneath this advert
“With geothermal power, we will present electrical energy and heating within the hard-to-reach areas of the nation. As an example, within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, energy at the moment prices Rs 30-32 per unit; with geothermal power, it might fall to beneath Rs 10-11. Equally, in Ladakh, the place heating is crucial throughout peak winters, tapping geothermal sources might present each heating and electrical energy,” the MNRE Secretary stated.
“Additionally, within the Gulf of Cambay, there are millions of deserted oil wells. The drilling has been completed, however the warmth generated from there may be not getting used at this time,” he added.
Oil and fuel corporations are more and more seeking to repurpose deserted wells for geothermal power. In Barmer, Rajasthan, IIT Madras is piloting a venture to retrofit unproductive oil wells to generate 450 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electrical energy, with assist from MNRE and Vedanta Ltd’s Cairn Oil & Fuel. Reliance Industries Ltd, in its 2024-25 annual report, additionally stated it plans to leverage its oil and fuel exploration and manufacturing enterprise to develop into geothermal.
Geothermal power faces excessive upfront prices and exploration dangers — it takes about Rs 36 crore to develop one megawatt (MW) of capability. The Nationwide Coverage on Geothermal Power goals to financially assist R&D and pilot initiatives, together with streamlining efforts throughout stakeholders, together with the Ministry of Petroleum and Pure Fuel and state governments. A viability hole funding (VGF) scheme can also be being explored.
Story continues beneath this advert
“The problem is to reveal business feasibility, and that experiment is already underneath approach. The coverage’s framework will enable us to hold out the technical in addition to business design wanted for it,” Sarangi stated. The MNRE has sanctioned 5 initiatives up to now, together with the one supported by Vedanta, and with the coverage, it expects to develop the checklist.
The coverage comes after a activity pressure on harnessing geothermal power in India was shaped by the MNRE in August 2024.