TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY
THE CONTEXT: After eight years since its inception, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is poised to expedite the finalization of a national policy on geothermal energy.
EXPLANATION:
- The draft policy, initially proposed in 2016, aims to provide non-fiscal support for the development of the geothermal energy sector in India.
- The draft policy was introduced in 2016 but has yet to be finalized.
- The delay in finalizing the policy has prompted the government to reevaluate its approach.
- Initially, the plan was to establish demonstration projects before finalizing the policy based on their success.
- However, progress has been hindered by delays in ongoing projects, such as the 1 MW pilot project in Ladakh, undertaken by ONGC Ltd.
- In light of the delays, the government has revised its strategy and aims to finalize the policy concurrently with the establishment of demonstration projects.
- These projects are targeted to have a cumulative capacity of approximately 25 MW.
- Sites like Barren Island in Andaman & Nicobar are being considered for these projects to bolster clean energy production across the islands.
- Additionally, there are plans to explore the use of geothermal energy for green hydrogen production and domestic consumption, with potential export opportunities to Singapore.
Features of the Proposed Policy
- The forthcoming policy is expected to provide primarily non-fiscal support to stakeholders venturing into the geothermal energy sector.
- This support may include streamlined environmental clearances and simplified land acquisition processes.
- The policy will likely align with the 2016 draft, which proposed measures such as awarding land for project development, maintenance of production wells, and soft loans akin to those provided for other renewable energy projects.
Geothermal Energy Potential and Exploration Efforts
- Geothermal energy harnesses heat from the earth’s subsurface for various applications, including electricity generation and heating/cooling systems.
- India is estimated to have the potential to produce 10 GW of geothermal energy, with exploration efforts previously conducted by the Geological Survey of India during the 1970s-1980s.
- Unlike countries with hot lava resources, India primarily relies on hot rocks for geothermal energy, which produce less heat.
Contribution to Clean Energy Goals
- The exploitation of geothermal resources aligns with India’s ambitious renewable energy targets, aiming for 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 and achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
- Integrating geothermal energy into the energy mix would diversify India’s cleaner energy sources, contributing to its sustainability goals.
Geothermal energy:
- Geothermal energy is thermal energy extracted from the Earth’s crust.
- It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for millennia.
- Geothermal heating, using water from hot springs, for example, has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times and for space heating since Roman times. Geothermal power, (generation of electricity from geothermal energy), has been used since the 20th century.
- Unlike wind and solar energy, geothermal plants produce power at a constant rate, without regard to weather conditions.
- Geothermal resources are theoretically more than adequate to supply humanity’s energy needs. Most extraction occurs in areas near tectonic plate boundaries.
- India has huge potential to become a leading contributor in generating eco-friendly and cost effective geothermal power. Around 6.5 per cent of electricity generation in the world would be done with the help of geothermal energy and India would have to play a bigger role in the coming years in this direction. But, the power generation through geothermal resources is still in nascent stages in India.
- Geological Survey of India has identified about 340 geothermal hot springs in the country. Most of them are in the low surface temperature range from 37oC -90oC which is suitable for direct heat applications. These springs are grouped into seven geothermal provinces i.e. Himalayan (Puga, Chhumathang), Sahara Valley, Cambay Basin, Son-Narmada-Tapi (SONATA) lineament belt, West Coast, Godavari basin and Mahanadi basin.
- Some of the prominent geothermal resources include Puga Valley and Chhumathang in Jammu and Kashmir, Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh, Jalgaon in Maharashtra and Tapovan in Uttarakhand.
- A new location of geothermal power energy has also been found in Tattapani in Chhattisgarh. In addition, Gujarat is set to tap geothermal electricity through resources which are available in Cambay between Narmada and Tapi river. Puga, which is located at a distance of about 180 km from Leh in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir across the great Himalayan range, is considered to be a good potential of geothermal energy.
- In Puga valley, hot spring temperatures vary from 30oC to 84oC (boiling point at Puga) and discharge up to 300 liters /minute. A total of 34 boreholes ranging in depths from 28.5 m to 384.7 m have been drilled in Puga valley