Geothermal Energy Resources of India: Country Update

Abstract

New data on the geothermal waters from Bihar, Jharkhand and west Bengal are reported. The most interesting feature is that the thermal gases in these sites are highly enriched in helium and the concentration varies from 1 to 3% v/v. Commercial extraction of helium is being planned. India is still strongly promoting coal based power plants to bridge the supply-demand gap. In the year 2010 India launched an ambitious solar mission to generate 20,000 MWe by 2020, however, it is just generating a merger 130 MWe as on today. Considering the cost of such renewables, water requirement and land requirement, geothermal is the most economical source that the policy makers in India should realize. Countries across the world are making giant progress in geothermal sector. India is still not able to fix tariff for already approved 25 MWe geothermal power project in Andhra Pradesh. However geothermal is upbeat in India as several states like Gujarat, are coming forward to develop this resources. Oil PSUs (public sector undertaking) are also keen in utilizing their abandoned oil wells in Gujarat and other fields on the east coast of India for extracting geothermal power.