Three reasons why geothermal could fix India’s energy concerns
A thrust on sourcing thermal energy from natural hot springs could help bridge shortages and preserve the climate.
India’s energy development landscape has been changing dynamically. The country has electrified almost 100% of households. Despite the roadblocks brought forth by the pandemic, it has been unfailing in its ambitions to adopt renewable energy sources such as solar energy. And has made a swift switch to energy-efficient LED lighting.
With the threats posed by the climate crisis, the shift to renewable energy is the need of the hour. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in a report that the climate impact would be far greater than previously expected. The panel also stated that India could become uninhabitable unless there is a faster movement toward clean energy sources.
The country is making continuous advancements in attaining sustainability goals. But considering the twin factors of the energy crisis and climate change, the question is which is the one source of energy that will help India become more sustainable? The answer, mercifully, lies in our own backyard. Our hot springs.
Blessed with abundant natural geysers across the country, the adoption of geothermal energy would be the next big move to make India a ‘power’ superpower. Through the exploration of hot springs in the mountainous regions and plains, geothermal energy generation could be made mainstream.
The initial steps have already been taken with state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) working to set up India’s first geothermal field development project in Ladakh.
In the past three decades, the various geothermal resources in India have been mapped by the Geological Survey of India (GSI). Broad estimates suggest that there could be 10 Gigawatts (GW) of geothermal power potential in the country in the initial phase. This is sufficient to power all of Delhi for 1.5 days, which had a peak daily electricity demand of 7.02 GW on July 1, 2021.
Here’s a look at the three major reasons why geothermal works:
Unrestricted energy source
Moving to geothermal energy will not only provide a tenable source of power but also enable a 24/7 generation. Unlike solar energy, geothermal power does not have a timing restriction.
It is not impacted by the time of the day, season, temperature, or even weather conditions such as wind or sunlight. Research shows that a geothermal power plant will produce energy for around 8,600 hours a year, while in solar plants the average is around 2,000 hours per year.
Similarly, geothermal power plants use less land than coal, wind, or solar plants. In addition, the plants also consume less water and emit almost no greenhouse gases, unlike solar, wind, and natural gas facilities.
Because it can run all days of the year continuously, the power supply from geothermal plants is highly predictable and stable. This makes energy planning more accurate, especially since supply is not dependent on external factors such as fuel available to run machinery or weather vagaries.
Hot springs are available in abundance
India doesn’t have a dearth of hot springs. From Ladakh to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Assam, multiple sources of geothermal energy exist.
State-owned ONGC is setting up a project to explore geothermal energy in Ladakh. Phase I involves the exploration, production, and drilling of wells up to 500 meters in depth. This will enable the setting up of a pilot plant of up to 1 MW power capacity.
Phase II would involve deeper and lateral exploration of geothermal reservoirs by drilling an optimal number of wells. Phase III would involve the commercial development of the geothermal plant.
Initial surveys by GSI have shown that there are around 300 geothermal hot springs in India. Most of these geothermal hot springs are in medium potential (100°C to 200°C) and low potential (<100 °C) zones. High potential geothermal springs have a temperature of 120°C and above. The higher the ground temperature, the better is the energy generation.
Hot springs with temperatures above 100°C are beneficial for direct use, meaning the energy supply can be redirected for household heating purposes once it is extracted from the source.
So far, the sites identified for geothermal power generation are Puga Valley & Chumathang in Ladakh, Cambay in Gujarat, Tattapani in Chhattisgarh, Khammam in Telangana, and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. Potential also exists in the Godavari belt where reservoir temperatures are upwards of 120°C.
Unlike other renewable energy sources such as solar which can be used only for direct heating/lighting purposes in homes, geothermal energy can be utilized for both heating and cooling. This is because the earth’s temperature is higher than average winter temperatures and lower than average summer temperatures.
Direct-use sites such as Rajgir in Bihar, Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh, Surajkund in Jharkhand, Tapoban in Uttarakhand, and Sohana region in Haryana could help build a steady supply of geothermal power without disruptions. Direct use is a process where a geothermal reservoir is drilled to access a steady stream of hot water. The water is brought up through the well, and a mechanical system delivers the hot water to homes and commercial units.
Zeroing in on potential geothermal sites means that the country can slowly move away from import dependency on thermal power.
Having steady access to hot springs makes it a viable option to set up geothermal plants in and around these sites. This means that irrespective of the coal imports and international price pressures, India can continue to be energy self-reliant through geothermal sources.
Return on investment is high
While the initial geothermal plant setup costs can be high, these expenses can be offset by the low operation and maintenance costs.
Geothermal plant maintenance costs are negligible, ranging from $0.01 to $0.03 per Kilowatt (KW). In contrast, coal plant maintenance costs are upwards of $46 per KW.
Studying international examples such as The Geysers of California, IIT Bombay researchers are looking into the potential of geothermal complexes. A multitude of 10–15 power plants concentrated in one region such as the Western Ghats could generate up to 725 MW of electricity, powering 725,000 homes per day.
The return on investment of 30–60% reduction in energy bills means that the return on investment is achieved in simply 7–10 years.
This will enable thermal power plants that are cutting coal imports to take a breather, without energy supply to customers being impacted.
Indian states, too, have identified locations within their region, to begin geothermal exploration.
In Assam, a government-owned Assam Power Distribution Company is looking to collaborate with Japanese companies such as Mitsui & Co. in the areas of renewable energy sources, including geothermal power.
Similarly, the possibility of setting up a hybrid solar-geothermal power plant in Dholera, Gujarat, is being studied. Surveys by the Pandit Deendayal Energy University in Gujarat found that there are 17 geothermal energy sites in the state that can be explored for setting up power plants.
While solar plants are operational across the country where sunshine is available in abundance, the biggest concern is that such grids are not operational at night. Geothermal sources can be used to bridge this gap.
Private companies such as Tata Power, which have experience in managing geothermal projects in other countries, could also be brought in to explore similar possibilities in India.
The hunger for power
India’s installed power generation capacity is set to grow to 817 GW by 2030. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow that India would install 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022, up from 100 GW currently.
The plan also includes increasing its non-fossil capacity to 500 GW by 2030 to meet 50% of energy requirements from renewable sources.
The best alternative for this switch would be to nurture geothermal energy sources. The International Energy Agency reported that India is set to see the largest increase in energy demand over the next 20 years. This makes it imperative to accelerate investments into clean energy.
Some groundwork has already been laid by the government, in terms of exploration and power generation targets. Industry experts such as The Energy & Resources Institute have recommended that quicker policy actions be taken under the National Electricity Policy to build geothermal plants. Subsidies, lower tariffs for power companies, and tax incentives could also be used to forge public-private partnerships on this front.
Rather than simply mapping out the geothermal sites, it is also necessary for industry-led research proposals to develop use-cases and make the plants operational.
At a time when small ventures such as Quaise Energy are building technologies to dig the world’s deepest hole to generate geothermal power, there is a lot to learn. India already has the raw materials in place, it simply needs to harness the potential of the geothermal energy sources to their maximum capacity.
