‘Freak incident’: ONGC- ISOR downplay geothermal fluid discharge into Ladakh’s Puga nullah

‘Freak incident’: ONGC- ISOR downplay geothermal fluid discharge into Ladakh’s Puga nullah

Subject : Geography

Section: Physical Geography

Context: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Energy Centre (OECT) and the Iceland Geosurvey (ISOR), that have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for developing a geothermal plant in Puga, Ladakh, have termed a recent accident at the site as a ‘freak incident’.

Content:

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is natural heat from the interior of the earth that can be used to generate electricity as well as to heat up buildings.

The natural examples of geothermal energy are given below.

• Geysers
• Lava Fountain
• Hot Springs
• Advantages :Renewable; Easy to exploit in some cases; CO2 production less than with fossil fuel; High net energy yield
• Disadvantages :Not available everywhere; H2S pollution ; geothermal energy harnessing produces some water pollution

Geothermal Energy in India

• In India, exploration and study of geothermal fields started in 1970.
• Geological Survey of India has found around 350 geothermal energy locations in the country. The most promising of these is in the Puga valley of Ladakh.
• India has 7 geothermal provinces [viz. Himalayas, Sohana, West Coast, Cambay (Gujarat), Godavari, Mahanadi and Son-Narmada-Tapi (SONATA)] and a number of geothermal springs.
• Geothermal resources in India have been mapped by GSI and a broad estimate suggests that there could be 10 gigawatts (GW) geothermal power potential, as per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• In 2013, the Chhattisgarh government has decided to establish the Geothermal Power Plant in the country at Tattapani in the Balrampur district.
• Ministry of renewable energy has planned to generate geothermal energy up to 1000 MW by 2022.

The major sites for geothermal energy in India are:

• Himalayas: J&K, HP and Sikkim; PUGA hot spring in J&K and Manikaran in HP.
• Sohana: Haryana, Rajasthan.
• Son-Narmada-Tapi (SONATA): MP, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand; Tattapani spring in Chhattisgarh.
• Cambay: Mainly Gujarat and some parts of Rajasthan
• Godavari: AP
• Mahanadi: Orissa, Taptapani Spring in Orissa.
• Jalgaon in Maharashtra
• Bakreshwar in West Bengal
• Tuwa in Gujarat