{"id":63990,"date":"2025-09-18T11:16:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T05:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=63990"},"modified":"2025-09-18T13:46:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T08:16:13","slug":"indias-new-geothermal-energy-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-new-geothermal-energy-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s New Geothermal Energy Policy: Potential, Benefits, and Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>India Geothermal Energy Policy Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the govt, India\u2019s new national geothermal energy policy aims to test the technology\u2019s commercial viability, with firms from the US, Iceland, and Norway exploring R&amp;D and pilot projects in the Gulf of Cambay, Arunachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>About Geothermal Energy<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Geothermal energy harnesses the <\/span><b>Earth\u2019s heat from hot springs or underground reservoirs, using steam to generate electricity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can also provide heating, cooling, greenhouse support, and aquaculture benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified 381 hot springs with surface temperatures of 35\u00b0C to 89\u00b0C.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>How it Works: The Process<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The process of harnessing geothermal energy typically involves drilling wells to access underground reservoirs of hot water and steam, known as <\/span><b>hydrothermal resources<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-64012\" src=\"https:\/\/d35xcwcl37xo08.cloudfront.net\/current-affairs-wp-uploads\/2025\/09\/unnamed-82.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"368\" height=\"512\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most common method for generating electricity from these resources involves a few key steps:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Extraction<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Wells are drilled deep into the Earth to tap into geothermal reservoirs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Conversion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The hot water or steam is brought to the surface. In a dry steam plant, the steam is used directly to spin a turbine. In a flash steam plant, high-pressure hot water is converted to steam in a &#8220;flash tank&#8221; before it turns the turbine.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Electricity Generation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The spinning turbine is connected to a generator, which converts the mechanical energy into electricity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Reinjection:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The cooled water or condensed steam is then pumped back into the geothermal reservoir, a crucial step for maintaining the pressure and sustainability of the resource.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Geothermal Potential<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s estimated <\/span><b>geothermal potential is 10.6 GW<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with major sites in the Himalayan Geothermal Province (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh), the Cambay Graben in Gujarat, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Abandoned oil wells in Cambay and Gandhar (ONGC, Gujarat) are being considered for geothermal use.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Global Geothermal Capacity<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Globally, geothermal capacity is less than 17 GW, dominated by <\/span><b>the US, Indonesia, and the Philippines<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while <\/span><b>Iceland and Norway lead in technology innovation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The US International Trade Administration identified Ladakh\u2019s Puga and Chumathang fields as India\u2019s most promising.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China, the US, and India account for 75% of next-generation geothermal potential, with India\u2019s capacity projected to reach 4.2 GW by 2035 and nearly 100 GW by 2045.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Geothermal Energy Push<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched its geothermal energy policy, to promote exploration and development.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Companies from Norway and Iceland have begun pilot studies in the Gulf of Cambay, Arunachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Collaborations with the US and Indonesia are also being explored, especially for enhanced geothermal systems suited for large-scale power plants.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Potential Benefits in Remote Areas<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the policy, geothermal energy can transform energy access in remote regions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where electricity costs \u20b930\u201332 per unit, geothermal could reduce costs to \u20b910\u201311 per unit.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Ladakh, it could supply both heating and electricity during extreme winters.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Repurposing Oil Wells<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has thousands of abandoned oil wells, particularly in the Gulf of Cambay, which can be repurposed for geothermal use.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oil and gas firms are showing interest: IIT Madras is piloting a 450 kWh project in Barmer, Rajasthan, with support from MNRE and Vedanta\u2019s Cairn Oil &amp; Gas.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reliance Industries also plans to expand into geothermal through its oil and gas business.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Challenges and Policy Support<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Geothermal projects face <\/span><b>high upfront costs and exploration risks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with an <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">estimated \u20b936 crore required per megawatt of capacity<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To address this, the National Policy on Geothermal Energy will support R&amp;D, pilot projects, and coordination across stakeholders, including the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and state governments.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A viability gap funding (VGF) scheme is also being considered.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Ongoing Initiatives<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MNRE has already sanctioned five projects, including one backed by Vedanta.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the new policy, it expects to expand this list.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The policy follows the <\/span><b>creation of an MNRE task force on geothermal energy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (formed in August 2024) and aims to demonstrate commercial feasibility while building technical and financial frameworks for scaling up.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/business\/govt-geothermal-pilots-iceland-norway-firms-eye-sites-uttarakhand-arunachal-10256080\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.financialexpress.com\/policy\/economy-global-tie-ups-soon-to-push-geo-thermal-energy-govt-3981034\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India\u2019s geothermal policy targets 10.6 GW potential, with pilots in Ladakh, Cambay, and Arunachal. It aims to cut costs, repurpose oil wells, and expand clean energy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":64011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2756,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-63990","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-india-geothermal-energy-policy","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63990","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\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}