On February 6, 2021, Union Territory (UT) Administration of Ladakh, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Leh and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Energy Centre have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish India’s 1st ever Geothermal Field Development Project in Puga Village of Eastern Ladakh (UT Ladakh). ONGC Energy Centre will be the implementing agency of the project.
Ravinder Kumar, Administrative Secretary of Ladakh Power Development Department & Sachin Kumar Vaishya, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LAHDC signed the MoU with ONGC Energy Centre.
i.According to an analysis by a Team of Researchers in 2018, Puga village showed high potential for Geo-Thermal Energy
- Puga shows geothermal activity in the form of hot springs, mud pools, sulphur and borax deposits.
- The project will help Ladakh for sustainable development and to attain the goal of carbon-neutral Ladakh.
The list of benefits of the projects are
- Energy from the project will be used for giving round-the-clock power supplies to neighbouring villages
- Hot Water from the springs will be used for space-heating
- Constructing hot swimming pools to attract tourists
- The development of geothermal potential will be useful during winter months, as Ladakh’s hydropower stations are shut or work at lower efficiencies due to low flow rates.
ii.The Pilot project will be implemented in 3 Phases
- In Phase-1, 1 MW (megawatt) power generation capacity will be generated and 100% free power will be supplied to the general public.
- Phase-2 will involve deeper and lateral exploration of geothermal reservoirs by drilling required numbers of wells & establishing a high capacity demo plant in Ladakh.
- Phase-3 Based on the discovered capacity it will be transformed into a commercial project.
iii.The capacity of the Geo-thermal project is expected to be raised to 200 MW in future.
Geothermal Energy:
- Geothermal Energy is Renewable as it generates power from the heat emerging out of Earth’s interior.
- Unlike Solar and Wind energy, it is available 24 hours a day & 365 days a year.
- It also emits 80% less greenhouse gases compared to coal and oil.
Recent Related News:
i.On 4th July 2020, Radha Krishna Mathur, Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh launched Mission Organic Development Initiative (M.O.D.I) and Greenhouse Project, to lead the Union Territory on a sustainable path, over a virtual platform from Raj Niwas, Ladakh.
About Ladakh
Lieutenant Governor– Radha Krishna Mathur
Capital– Leh, Kargil
About ONGC Energy Centre:
Chairman & Managing Director – Shashi Shanker
Headquarters – New Delhi
