Jammu & Kashmir State Power
Development Corporation has
made significant progress in
developing what could be India's first
geothermal power project. The state
power utility is in the process of
selecting developers for a 5-mw
demonstration project to be located in
Pugah valley.
Speaking to Electrical Monitor over
phone, I.A. Kakroo, DGM, JKSPC said
that a pre-bid meeting of potential
developers was held on March 6, 2012.
Geosyndicate, a Mumbai-based
company, attended the pre-bid
conference and so did Thermax Ltd,
the Pune-based engineering company.
Thermax has tied up with Icelandbased
Reykjavik Geothermal.
The selected will be awarded rights
to build and operate the plant for 18
years, including three years for
construction, and also drill at least two
wells of 2,000m in depth to help assess
the area's geothermal potential.
Kakroo further noted that in view of
requests made at the pre-bid
conference, the last date for
submission of bids has been extended
from March 20 to April 5. Technically,
the project will be awarded on tariffbased
competitive bidding. However,
since geothermal energy is a new
subject in India, there are no
benchmark values available. The
project therefore cannot strictly
follow the tariff-based bidding model,
the JKSPDC official noted. However,
some commercial aspect (other than
tariff per se) will be considered while
awarding the project. "The project is
more of a pilot activity than a fullfledged
commercial venture," the
official noted. In view of the fact that
the Pugah Valley project would not be
a strictly commercial project, the state
nodal agency has also put on hold
its plan of appointing a consultant
for which the process was initiated
last year.
In a geothermal power project,
heat trapped deep within the earth
surface is harnessed to produce
electricity. As there is no combustion
of fuels-as in the case of conventional
thermal power plants-no carbon
emission is involved.
According to estimates made by
Geological Survey of India, the country
has a geothermal power potential of
10,000 mw. GSI has identified 350
potential locations all over the country.
In Jammu & Kashmir, the 15-km Puga
Valley is a high-potential site.
Geothermal potential also exists in
Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra
Pradesh, etc.
Reliable reports suggest that the
world's installed geothermal power
capacity today stands at around
10,000 mw. USA, Philippines,
Indonesia and Mexico lead in terms
of installed capacity. Iceland that has
installed geothermal capacity of
around 570 mw meets 30 per cent of
its electricity requirement through
this clean source.