{"id":123446,"date":"2026-09-08T15:03:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T09:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=123446"},"modified":"2026-09-08T15:03:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T09:33:22","slug":"puga-valley-geothermal-energy-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/puga-valley-geothermal-energy-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Puga Valley Geothermal Energy Project, India\u2019s First Geothermal Project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Puga Valley Geothermal Energy Project<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Ladakh is an important step towards harnessing India\u2019s geothermal energy potential. Located at an altitude of more than <\/span><b>14,000 feet<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Puga Valley is known for its hot springs and strong geothermal activity. The project is being developed by the <\/span><b>ONGC Energy Centre<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and aims to demonstrate electricity generation using heat stored beneath the Earth\u2019s surface.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What is Geothermal Energy?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Geothermal energy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the energy obtained from the <\/span><b>natural heat present inside the Earth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This heat warms underground rocks and water, which can be brought to the surface and used for <\/span><b>electricity generation, heating, agriculture and other purposes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It is a <\/span><b>renewable and relatively low-carbon source of energy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that can provide power continuously.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Source:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Heat stored deep inside the <\/span><b>Earth\u2019s crust<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Renewable:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It is considered a <\/span><b>renewable energy source<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> because Earth&#8217;s internal heat is continuously generated.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Electricity generation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Hot water or steam from underground can be used to <\/span><b>drive turbines and generate electricity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Direct heating:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Geothermal heat can be used directly for <\/span><b>space heating, greenhouses and industrial processes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>24\u00d77 availability:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Unlike solar and wind energy, geothermal energy can provide <\/span><b>continuous power<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and is less dependent on weather.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Low emissions:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Geothermal power generally produces <\/span><b>lower greenhouse-gas emissions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than fossil-fuel-based power.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Geothermal hotspots:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Areas with <\/span><b>hot springs, geysers and volcanic activity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> often have significant geothermal potential.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>India&#8217;s potential:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> India has several promising geothermal regions, including <\/span><b>Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Puga Valley:<\/b> <b>Puga Valley in Ladakh<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is one of India&#8217;s important geothermal sites and is being developed for geothermal power generation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How Will the Puga Valley Geothermal Energy Project Generate Electricity?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-first-geothermal-power-project-in-ladakh\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Puga Geothermal Project<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will use the natural heat stored beneath the Earth\u2019s surface to generate electricity. Geothermal fluids heated by underground rocks will be brought to the surface through <\/span><b>production wells<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The heat or steam will then be used to run a <\/span><b>turbine connected to a generator<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while the cooled water can be reinjected underground to support sustainable use of the geothermal reservoir. The project is being developed as a <\/span><b>1 MW pilot geothermal power project<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Step-by-Step Process<\/b><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Drilling Geothermal Wells:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Deep wells are drilled into the Earth&#8217;s crust to reach the <\/span><b>hot geothermal reservoir<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. At Puga, two wells have been developed to around <\/span><b>1,000 metres<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> depth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Bringing Hot Fluid to the Surface:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Underground water absorbs heat from hot rocks and becomes extremely hot. The <\/span><b>production well<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> brings this geothermal fluid towards the surface.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Producing Steam or Heat:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Due to the high temperature, the geothermal fluid can produce <\/span><b>steam<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which can be used to drive a turbine.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Running the Turbine:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The steam or geothermal heat is used to rotate a <\/span><b>turbine<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The turbine is connected to a generator.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Generating Electricity:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> As the turbine rotates, the <\/span><b>generator converts mechanical energy into electrical energy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Reinjecting Water:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> After the heat is extracted, the cooled geothermal fluid can be <\/span><b>reinjected into the underground reservoir<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> through an injection well. This helps maintain the geothermal system and reduce water wastage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><b>National Policy on Geothermal Energy<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>National Policy on Geothermal Energy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, notified by <\/span><b>MNRE in September 2025<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, provides a framework to promote the <\/span><b>exploration, development and utilisation of geothermal energy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in India and supports the country\u2019s goal of achieving <\/span><b>Net Zero emissions by 2070<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Promotes geothermal energy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for electricity generation and direct-heat applications.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Identifies promising areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including 42 geothermal manifestations for further development.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Encourages <\/span><b>research, innovation and technology development<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in geothermal energy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supports <\/span><b>international cooperation and technology transfer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Promotes the possible <\/span><b>repurposing of abandoned oil and gas wells<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for geothermal energy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supports <\/span><b>clean-energy transition and Net Zero by 2070<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by diversifying India\u2019s renewable energy mix and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Puga Valley Geothermal Energy Project: India advances a 1 MW pilot in Ladakh to harness clean geothermal power, boost renewable energy and support the Net Zero 2070 goal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":123417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[10117],"class_list":["post-123446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general-studies","tag-puga-valley-geothermal-energy-project","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123446"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123506,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123446\/revisions\/123506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}