Reported from India, “Thermax, a Pune-based capital goods manufacturer, is set to partner Icelandic firm Reykjavík Geothermal to set up a geothermal power project in India.
A pilot 3 MW project is slated to be set up in Puga Valley in Ladakh, which is likely to be the first such project in the country, industry sources said.”
Interesting enough this is now the third player talking about the same project in this part of India. The other companies exploring the same project (or in proximity) are Australian Panax Geothermal with Indian company Geosyndicate Power (see Panax), Icelandic Mannvit with Indian LNJ Bhilwara (see article) and now Thermax with Icelandic Reykjavik Geothermal.
According to the article, “Reykjavik Geothermal will help in drilling and exploration activities for the project, which are part of Thermax’s plans to enter the ‘green energy’ sector.
The Pune-based company is also reportedly looking at solar power as a diversification avenue.
The estimated potential for geothermal energy in India is about 10,000 MW.
In India, exploration and study of geothermal fields started in 1970 and around 350 potential geothermal locations have been identified in India by the Geological Survey of India (GSI). Puga Valley is known for high temperature geothermal systems, with the geothermal activity concentrated in a three-sq km area of the 15-km long Valley.
In India, from the point of view of electrification of rural and remote areas, geothermal energy has a great potential in terms of its impact in the Himalayan region, where even small projects of 5 kilowatts can significantly change the economic situation and living standards.”
Source: thinkgeoenergy.com
WRITTEN BY: LXRICHTER – PICTURE: TREKKING IN LADAKH, INDIA (SOURCE: FLICKR/ MCKAYSAVAGE, CREATIVE COMMONS)
