India’s first-ever geothermal field development project in Ladakh

  • An agreement for establishing India’s first-ever geothermal field in Ladakh has been signed. 
  • Ladakh's Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur termed it a step towards achieving the goal of carbon-neutral Ladakh.
  • The MoU was signed between: Union Territory Administration Ladakh, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Leh, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Energy Centre.

WHAT IS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY?

  • Geothermal energy is the thermal energy generated and stored in the rock and fluids beneath Earth’s crust. 
  • Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. 
  • The largest geothermal development in the world is The Geysers north of San Francisco in California.
  • In 2015, India launched the draft National Policy on Geo-Thermal Energy.

THE LADAKH PROJECT

  • In phase 1, 1 megawatt (MW) power generation capacity is to be installed.
  • ONGC Energy Centre is the implementing agency for this pilot project.
  • Phase-2 will focus on deeper and lateral exploration of geothermal reservoir. 
  • Phase-3 of the project is to be a commercial project as per discovered capacity. 

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