India's First Geothermal Power Project

• 08 Feb 2021

• India's first ever geothermal power project, known as ‘Geothermal Field Development Project’ is planned to be commissioned by the end of 2022.
• A tripartite MoU was signed between ONGC Energy, LAHDC, Leh and the Power Department of UT Ladakh.
• It will be established at Puga village of eastern Ladakh which has been identified as the hotspot of geothermal energy in the country by the scientists.
• In the first phase of the pilot project, one megawatt (MW) power generation capacity will be generated.
• In the first phase, the pilot project implemented by the ONGC-OEC will explore within the depth of 500 metres and it is planned to supply 24 hours free power to 10 neighbouring villages which are not connected with the northern grid for power supply.
• The second Phase is proposed for deeper and lateral exploration of geothermal reservoirs by drilling optimal number of wells and setting up of a higher capacity demo plant in Ladakh.

About Geothermal Energy

• Geothermal energy is the heat that comes from the sub-surface of the earth. It is contained in the rocks and fluids beneath the earth’s crust and can be found as far down to the earth’s hot molten rock, magma.
• To produce power from geothermal energy, wells are dug a mile deep into underground reservoirs to access the steam and hot water there, which can then be used to drive turbines connected to electricity generators. There are three types of geothermal power plants; dry steam, flash and binary.
• Dry steam is the oldest form of geothermal technology and takes steam out of the ground and uses it to directly drive a turbine. Flash plants use high-pressure hot water into cool, low-pressure water whilst binary plants pass hot water through a secondary liquid with a lower boiling point, which turns to vapour to drive the turbine.