Telangana’s Manuguru is India’s most promising geothermal power source

The coal mine area of the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) at Pagideru village of Manuguru region of Bhadradri Kothagudem district has been identified to have the potential of generating 3567 megawatts of geothermal power

Hyderabad: The coal mine area of the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) at Pagideru village of Manuguru region of Bhadradri Kothagudem district has been identified to have the potential of generating 3567 megawatts of geothermal power.

According to officials, about 381 geothermal sites have been identified in 10 geothermal areas in the country, out of which Manuguru geothermal field has been identified as the most promising area with adequate geothermal potential.

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“Generation and distribution of geothermal power is possible in Manuguru area with less investment as compared to other areas in the country. There is no proper transportation facility to other geothermal centres in the country, but a transportation facility is already available in Manuguru, so it is suitable for setting up more geothermal wells here,”the officials explained.

Moreover, since the Bhadradri Thermal Power Plant grid was very close to Manuguru, there would be no problem in electricity connection, the officials said, adding that there were many positives for setting up geothermal power stations in Manuguru region than other parts of the country.

During the drilling to identify the coal reserves, hot steam wells in the Manuguru region were discovered by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Singareni Collieries, based of the report further investigations were done in which it was found that the region has tremendous potential for geothermal generation.

A 20 kilowatt plant has been set up on an experimental basis by the Singareni company in collaboration with the union Ministry of Coal for the production of electricity with the hot steam wells found in Manuguru area. With the success of this pilot project, it was decided to study the possibilities of geothermal power generation in this area, the officials added.

Recently, a tripartite agreement was signed between Singareni, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and Telangana Renewable Energy Corporation Development Corporation (TGREDCO) for the exploration and development of a vast underground geothermal (geothermal) field at Pagideru.

According to the agreement, in the proposed Godavari Geo Thermal Energy Project, ONGC will conduct a survey and exploration of the geothermal area in the Manuguru area and submit a report on the possibilities of setting up geothermal power generation centres in the area.

Geothermal energy is an energy source that is stored in the form of heat beneath the earth’s surface, which is clean, renewable, sustainable, carbon free, continuous, uninterrupted and environment-friendly. India has seven geothermal provinces and a number of geothermal springs.

Geothermal resources in India have been mapped by Geological Survey of India (GSI) and a broad estimate suggests that there could be 10 GW geothermal power potential as per Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

This energy can be used either directly, such as by channelling steam rising from the ground through a building, or indirectly, such as using heated geothermal fluids or steam to power a turbine and generate electricity.

In the Puga Valley, in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is building India’s first geothermal energy plant.