Energy from lava

Himachal Has Immense Potential of Geothermal Energy

 Y.S. RANA

Fight against nature’s extremities is always there and man turns to Mother Nature for protection. Necessity to survive in cold area where temperatures routinely drop to minus 40 degrees C, necessitate  to take on the task of exploring heat, which is generated from trapped lava to produce electricity. There are many who toil day and night in finding an answer to energy deficit across the world despite having many sources of energy but here in Chandigarh Dr Ritesh Arya, globally renowned geologist of Kasauli, thinks geothermal as future endless source of energy. While talking to Himachal This Week, he revealed that Himachal has immense potential of geothermal energy after Jammu and Kashmir. He has taken up the matter with the previous state government and submitted his proposal. The then chief minister Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal had shown keen interest in the proposal but in the meantime there was change of guard at Shimla. He further stated that he mapped over 300 geothermal energy sites in the country. The region has huge potential of geothermal energy and country can warm up to geo-thermal energy in Himachal Pradesh.  According to him Jammu & Kashmir has eight such sites followed by Himachal Pradesh (5), Uttaranchal (4) and Gurgaon in Haryana has sufficient potential of this energy. Gujarat is another state that has huge potential of this energy, he says. According to traditional calculations, there is 10,000 MW geothermal potential in the country but as per his concept it is one lakh MW that could remove shortage of power across the country.

Energy from Lava

He invented a concept “Agneyodgara Urja” means energy from lava to identify lava sites at shallow depths to produce GIGA watts of power using Geo-cogent technology to produce electricity 24 hour. He also disclosed that the expert committee set up by the National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, was considering how best to profitably exploit hot rock trapped beneath the earth’s surface. Agneyodara addresses this issue and aims to provide free safe sustainable water and energy for all by 2050,” he hoped. A globally renowned geologist and owner of Arya Drillers, a company that works on underground water sources and ground water exploration in the Himalayas said that there was no manifestation of volcanic activity on the surface but deep boring about two kilometre down got us temperature as high as 300 degree C. The stream there could divert to the heat source to produce steam that could run turbines to produce clean and endless supply of power, he said.

Army Using Concept to Grow All Season Vegetables at Leh

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, GOI was in a process to assess the feasibility of geo-thermal energy in Jammu and Kashmir where maximum sites existed. It has cleared a pilot project to generate 45 MW electricity in Puga valley of Ladakh by using steam generated from hot geysers and molten rock, he stated. On an experimental basis, Army based at Leh has been growing all season vegetables using geothermal energy by controlling temperature in greenhouse. Earlier, the entire vegetables requirement for Army was being airlifted from Chandigarh. Now the Army was considering growing all-season vegetables using geothermal energy by controlling temperatures in greenhouse, said Dr Arya.

Project Creates Ripples in International Community

The project which is a first of its kind in the country has made ripples in the international community. A team of scientists from Italy’s Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources, Florence had visited the area to study the geo-thermal activity, he says. Convinced with his research, he disclosed that the biggest problem in this project was drilling cost. The power generating equipments were the same. “Since there are no recurring fuel costs, energy can be a cheapest clean source of energy,” he reveals. “We are getting free energy and water why are we complicating the system to make them the most unaffordable commodity,” says he. In Himalayan Border areas provision of power cost Rs 27 per unit based on diesel gen-set. Use of geothermal energy can save us from exorbitant electricity bills up to 70 per cent, he says