Table of Contents
- On 7th February, 2021, a historic agreement for establishing India’s first-ever geothermal field development project was signed.
- The project will be in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
- Ladakh’s Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur termed it a step towards achieving the goal of carbon-neutral Ladakh.
The MoU was signed between:
- Union Territory Administration Ladakh,
- Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Leh,
- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Energy Centre.
What is Geothermal Energy?
- Geothermal energy is the thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth.
- Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter.
- Geothermal energy is contained in the rock and fluids beneath Earth’s crust.
- It can be found from shallow ground to several miles below the surface, and even farther down to the extremely hot molten rock called magma.
- To produce geothermal-generated electricity, wells, 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) deep or more, are drilled into underground reservoirs.
- These wells tap steam and very hot water that drive turbines linked to electricity generators.
- The first geothermally generated electricity was produced in Larderello, Italy, in 1904.
There are three types of geothermal power plants:
- Dry steam – takes steam out of fractures in the ground and uses it to directly drive a turbine.
- Flash plants – pull deep, high-pressure hot water into cooler low-pressure water. The steam that results from this process is used to drive the turbine.
- Binary – the hot water is passed by a secondary fluid with a much lower boiling point than water. This causes the secondary fluid to turn to vapor, which then drives a turbine.
- Geothermal energy is generated in over 20 countries.
- The United States is the world’s largest producer.
- The largest geothermal development in the world is The Geysers north of San Francisco in California.
- In Iceland, many of the buildings and even swimming pools are heated with geothermal hot water.
Potential geothermal reservoirs in India:
- Puga (Ladakh)
- Tatapani (Chhattisgarh)
- Godavari Basin
- Manikaran (Himachal Pradesh),
- Bakreshwar (West Bengal),
- Tuwa (Gujarat),
- Unai (Maharashtra),
- Jalgaon (Maharashtra),
- Rajgir & Munger (Bihar).
In 2018, Iceland and India renewed their cooperation on geothermal development in India.
- MOU between Iceland GeoSurvey (ÍSOR) and CEGE, and the Center of Excellence for Geothermal Energy, in Ahmedabad.
The Ladakh Project
Phase-1 of this pilot project:
- 1 megawatt (MW) power generation capacity is to be installed,
- 100 per cent free power will be supplied to the general public,
- ONGC Energy Centre is the implementing agency for this pilot project.
Phase-2
- Deeper and lateral exploration of geothermal reservoir by drilling optimal number of wells,
- Setting up of a higher capacity demo plant in Ladakh.
Phase-3
- It is to be a commercial project as per discovered capacity.
The Lieutenant Governor also urged ONGC Energy to:
- Execute the project at the earliest,
- Ramp it up to 200 MW capacity for greater benefit.
Benefits
The energy from this project will have the following uses:
- It will give round-the-clock power supplies,
- The hot water from the spring could be used for space-heating and
- Establishing hot swimming pools to attract tourists.
- It will also help make Ladakh self-sustaining, emphasizing the government’s “Vocal for Local” calls.
- Since, geothermal is a nascent industry in India, it will open up a new sphere of jobs.
Latest Burning Issues | Free PDF
WhatsApp