A recent news items says that India has a geothermal power potential of 10,600MW, but the country is yet to see a single commissioned project that harnesses this technology. Though the capital cost for generating energy through geothermal is Rs80 million ($A2.46 million) to Rs100 million per MW, the operating cost is minimal. This is not adequately appreciated.
India’s first geothermal company GeoSyndicate Power Private has been permitted to assess the potential through exploratory drilling; it recently signed a MoU with Panx Geothermal, an Australian geothermal venture, to exploit the Godavari basin and Ladakh geothermal provinces to generate power.
The various assessment studies and surveys undertaken so far have resulted in the identification of 340 hot springs across the country. The discovery of vast geothermal reservoirs at Puga in the north-west of the Himalayas and Tatapani fields on the Narmada in central India also augurs well for the country.
Is it possible to install a geothermal power facility in Himalayas, because it is considered as risky zones for earthquakes.