India is planning to build a geothermal power plant in Arunachal Pradesh on the border with China. China is also setting up a geothermal plant across the same border. Know more about this important development in detail in this article. This topic is relevant for the IAS exam international relations segment.
India’s Geothermal Plant on the Chinese Border
- The project is strategically important in the context of increasing Chinese claims in the northeastern region.
- This project is the second geothermal project after the first project at Puga Valley in Ladakh.
- The project assumes significance due to its location at the border, persistent border tensions and deteriorating bilateral ties with China.
- The government is also ramping up several infrastructure projects along the border.
- According to the proposal which is yet to be confirmed, a local university in the state will partner with a Norwegian agency to carry out research for the geothermal project.
- Norway is a Nordic country that has extensively deployed geothermal heating pumps and has good experience in geothermal energy use.
- Nordic countries widely explore and utilize geothermal energy and for the project at Puga Valley also, ONGC has tied up with Iceland GeoSurvey, a government agency of Iceland.
- The Indian government also through the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) aims to establish cost-competitive geothermal capacity in India.
- Geothermal is an important source of renewable energy that contributes significantly to energy demand in Iceland, El Salvador, New Zealand, Kenya and the Philippines.
- The geothermal energy project also helps India towards achieving its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) of 500 GW of installed renewable energy capacity and net zero carbon emission by 2070.
What is Geothermal Energy?
Image source: Mint
Geothermal energy involves capturing and harnessing heat energy stored within Earth or cooking, bathing, space heating, electrical power generation, and other uses. Hot rocks in the earth’s core emit heat which generates steam and pressure and thus comes out of the earth’s surface. The steam from these reserves is either directly used to rotate the turbines of an electrical generator or is used to heat water which then produces steam for the process.
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