Geothermal India
Indian geothermal systems in combination have the capacity to produce 150,000 MW of power – a figure greater than the combined power being produced from other non-conventional energy sources. With escalating environmental concerns, India shall move towards clean, cheap, and eco-friendly geothermal power in future.
The present investor’s mood is upbeat and several IPPs are showing keen interest in developing geothermal based power projects. With the existing open economic policies of the Government, and large incentives given to non-conventional energy sectors, the future of geothermal energy sector in India appears to be bright.
Several hydrothermal provinces in India are characterized by high heat flow and thermal gradients with active discharges of over 400 thermal springs. Owing to detailed geological, geophysical and tectonic studies on several thermal provinces, geochemical characteristics of the thermal discharges and reservoir temperature estimations have been carried out by GS in collaboration with IIT Bombay , GSI , NGRI , CNR Italy, and GNS New Zealand. These investigations have identified several sites which are suitable for power generation as well as for direct use. These provinces are capable of generating more than 20,000 MW of power from hydrothermal sources alone.