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GEOTHERMAL POWER IN LADAKH

Aug 25, 2022

GEOTHERMAL POWER IN LADAKH

Why in News?

State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will be participating to generate electricity through Geothermal Energy at Puga.

  • Puga Valley is situated in the Changthang Valley in the south-eastern part of Ladakh, about 22 km away from the Salt Lake Valley.
  • It is a region of great significance known for its natural beauty and geothermal activities.
  • Puga is also visited for its hot sulphur spring.

Geothermal Project: It will be India’s first geothermal energy project and also the world’s highest at 14,000ft. ONGC has started drilling its first well for the project and encountered high-pressure steam at 100 degrees Celsius with a discharge rate of 100 tonne geothermal energy per hour, considered as a good sign for the project.

Benefits:

  • It will boost Ladakh’s potential to emerge as one of the country’s clean energy bowl by expanding the area’s horizon beyond solar or wind power.
  • The pilot plant provides power and heating needs of the nearby settlements of Tibetan pastoralist refugee settlements at Sumdo and nearby areas.
  • A bigger plant will provide 24X7 supply for the far-flung settlements and the large defence establishment in the eastern sector, reducing their dependence on diesel for running generators.
  • The plant can also play a vital role as a stabiliser for the 15-gigawatt solar/wind project being planned in the nearby Morey plains in the southwest.

Status of Geothermal Energy:

  • 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 370C to 900C, which is suitable for direct heat applications.
  • The potential for power generation at these sites is about 10,000 MW.
  • The hot springs in the country are grouped into seven geothermal provinces:
  • Himalayan, Sahara Valley, Cambay Basin, San-Narmada –Topi lineament belt, West Coast, Godavari Basin and Mahanadi Basin.

Some of the prominent places where a power plant can be established based on geothermal energy are:

  • Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh
  • Jalgaon in Maharashtra
  • Tapovan in Uttarakhand
  • Bakreshwar in West Bengal
  • Tuwa in Gujarat

Geothermal Energy - Geothermal energy is the heat from the earth. This heat is used for bathing, to heat buildings, and to generate electricity. The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat), and geothermal energy is a renewable energy source because heat is continuously produced inside the earth.

Sources:

  • Hot water or steam reservoirs deep in the earth are accessed by drilling.
  • Geothermal reservoirs located near the earth's surface, mostly located in the western U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii.
  • The shallow ground near the Earth's surface that maintains a relatively constant temperature of 50-60°F.

Uses:

  • Hot water and steam from reservoirs can be used to drive generators and produce electricity for consumers.
  • Other applications apply the heat produced from geothermal directly to various uses in buildings, roads, agriculture, and industrial plants.
  • The heat can also be used directly from the ground to provide heating and cooling in homes and other buildings.

ONGC

  • ONGC is a public sector petroleum company.
  • Under the leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the foundation stone of ONGC was laid in 1955 as the Oil and Gas Division under the Geological Survey of India.
  • It may be noted that on 14th August 1956, it was renamed as the Oil and Natural Gas Commission and in 1994 the Oil and Natural Gas Commission was converted into a corporation.
  • In the year 1997 it was accepted as one of the Navaratnas by the Government of India, while in the year 2010 it was given the status of Maharatna.